The highly anticipated “Battle of the Sexes” between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka is all set to take place on December 28 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The match has received its fair share of criticisms, with critics pointing out previously that it might be detrimental to the growth of women’s tennis and sports.
Battle Of The Sexes – Format and Rules
The match will follow a format often seen in team-based events such as the Laver Cup, where the game will have two normal 6-game sets, and a ten-point tiebreak should the sets be split between the two players. Scoring will be determined based on matches played on the Tour.
Two important stipulations are going into the match, with both players getting one serve each. Therefore, neither of them will have the luxury of a second serve to fall back on, and it will be interesting to see who can serve the biggest, especially during crunch moments.
Another key stipulation in this match will see Sabalenka’s side of the court be nine percent smaller than the side where Kyrgios will be playing. This is in accordance with the claim that women are nine percent slower than men on-court on average basis.
Battle of The Sexes –Â Where to Watch, Match Timing and Other Details
The Battle of the Sexes will be broadcast by some select platforms across the world. The most notable among them will be the BBC, which will be airing the event in the UK. Stan Sports will have exclusive rights to air the match in Australia, whereas the American and other international audiences can watch it on Tennis Channel and Prime Video platforms, with the match beginning at 3:45 pm GMT.
Historically, there have been three notable editions of the Battle of the Sexes, where male and female tennis players have gone head-to-head. The first two featured Bobby Riggs, who was in his 50s when he made the statement of beating current WTA players back in 1973.
Riggs won the first match against Margaret Court in 1973, but in a historic match, Billie Jean King defeated him in three sets, raising the women’s game to a new level. Another version of the Battle of the Sexes took place in 1992, where Jimmy Connors beat Martina Navratilova.
Coming to the match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios, the Belarusian has had another dominant year in 2025, where she successfully defended her No.1 ranking. She won four titles, including one Grand Slam and two WTA 1000 titles. She won over 60 matches and has also had notable runner-up finishes at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the WTA Finals.
Meanwhile, Kyrgios has not played on the Tour since 2022, as injuries have derailed the Australian’s potential comebacks on the Tour. However, 2022 was one of Kyrgios’s best seasons, as he had a 37-10 win-loss record, which included a title in Washington, a runner-up finish at Wimbledon, and a quarterfinal finish at the US Open.
