Nick Kyrgios & Aryna Sabalenka bluntly call out media for fueling 'Battle of the Sexes' backlash

Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka fired back at critics who had hounded them over their participation in the latest instalment of the 'Battle of the Sexes', which took place at Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday, December 28. Kyrgios registered a straight-set win over Sabalenka at the exhibition match and in the aftermath of the result, both players primarily held the media responsible for spreading negativity about the event.

There have been multiple instalments of the 'Battle of the Sexes' in tennis, and most of them, with the exception of the 1973 clash between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, have faced staunch criticism. Most of the criticism has stemmed from the perception that such matches, instead of bridging the gap between men's and women's tennis, have the exact opposite effect.

The latest instalment also came under similar fire, and more so because of Aryna Sabalenka agreeing to play with her side of the court being about 8-9% smaller than that of Nick Kyrgios. This, according to some, was equivalent to the event undermining the abilities of the reigning World No. 1 in women's singles tennis. Kyrgios' involvement, considering his 2023 guilty plea to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, also rubbed many the wrong way.

However, in their respective post-match press conferences, the ATP and WTA stars dismissed the negativity surrounding the event. Citing his love for mixed events as well as his healthy relationship with Sabalenka, Kyrgios said:

"There's so much negativity, and I actually think it's just you guys first of all. The media just loves to spread negativity for some dumb reason and the hate for me to just go out there and challenge myself and play such a great player like Aryna, you guys actually do it. I mean I don't do it. I was always about this. I would love do these events more."

The Australian former World No. 13 in men's singles added:

"I think more events should be mixed. I love mixed doubles. I've played all the mixed doubles events. I love it when it's women and men at the events. I think it's the media that needs to do a better job in stopping all this brainwashing of this division when there's none at all. We're great friends off the court. We have a great relationship."

Aryna Sabalenka, echoing Nick Kyrgios' sentiments and bringing up the mainstream attention that the match brought to the tennis world, said:

"I don't understand how people were able to find something negative in this event. I was playing great tennis. It was an entertaining match and yeah, he won the match, but I showed great tennis. It wasn't like 6-0, 6-0. It was a great fight. It was interesting to watch. It brought more eyes on tennis. Legends were watching this match."

"The attention that we built up to this event was not less than a Grand Slam final" - Aryna Sabalenka's bold claim after losing to Nick Kyrgios in 'Battle of the Sexes'

Aryna Sabalenka during her 'Battle of the Sexes' clash against Nick Kyrgios (Source: Getty)

Going on to deliver a positive assessment of how the hype around the latest instalment of the 'Battle of the Sexes' worked in not just the event's favor but also in the favor of tennis as a whole, Aryna Sabalenka boldly added:

"I don't see how it can be bad, how you can talk negative about this. I think the idea behind it is to help our sport grow and show tennis from a different side, that tennis events can be more fun, more entertaining, and we can make it almost as big as Grand Slam matches, because I think the attention that we built up to this event was not less than a Grand Slam final."

However, irrespective of Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka's respective takes, not everyone was impressed with how the match turned out. For instance, Rennae Stubbs, a former women's doubles No. 1 as well as an ex-coach of the legendary Serena Williams, blatantly called the event a "money grab".

Edited by Sudipto Pati