Swiatek rejects 'Battle of Sexes'

World No.2 Iga Swiatek said women’s tennis was strong enough to thrive without controversial gender-based singles matches like the recent “Battle of the Sexes” between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka.

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Iga Swiatek serves during a practice session in Perth.

(AFP)

Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios defeated women’s world No.1 Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in the Dubai exhibition last Sunday despite several rule tweaks implemented by the organisers to level the playing field.

Critics had warned that the match, a nod to the 1973 original “Battle of the Sexes” in which women’s trailblazer Billie Jean King downed the then 55-year-old former Grand Slam winner Bobby Riggs, risked trivialising the women’s game.