Kyrgios overpowers Sabalenka in dispiriting circus-like contest

Nick Kyrgios won tennis’s latest Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka in a dispiriting contest in Dubai that veered uneasily between exhibition, gimmick and outright circus.

- Sean Ingle

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios share a joke at the net

The Australian, who has won only one competitive singles match since the end of 2022 and has slipped to 671 in the world rankings, was sweating heavily and breathing hard as early as the fifth game of the match. Yet to no one’s great surprise, the extreme power of his serve, combined with the spin and velocity of his ground-strokes, proved too much for the women’s No 1 player.

“It was a really tough match,” the 30-year-old Kyrgios insisted after his 6-3, 6-3 victory. “I didn’t know what to expect. She broke my serve numerous times and honestly she was hitting some amazing shots. She is a hell of a competitor. It could have gone either way.”

Not many saw it that way. For while the modified rules of this contest meant that Sabalenka’s side of the court was 9% smaller, that advantage was nullified by both players also being limited to one serve, a change that significantly favoured Kyrgios. Almost every time the Australian fizzed down one of his howitzers, Sabalenka was left scrambling on the baseline. And while she hit plenty of winners, and often moved better than her opponent, there was always a sense that Kyrgios could step up whenever he wanted.