On Sunday in Dubai, UAE, a much-awaited "Battle of the Sexes" will take place, pitting Arina Sobolenko against Nick Kyrgios. The excitement for the show is fueled by several factors: Arina in her prime vs Nick, who has recently recovered from his injuries; strong advertising and marketing campaigns; and of course, the inherent charisma of the two tennis stars. The show-game between these two is expected to be natural entertainment with a plenty of humor on both sides of the court, which is sure to delight the audience. However, for the strongest female tennis player this game is going to present a significant challenge, and it will be interesting for us to observe if Arina can contend with Nick's masculine force and the extent to which he will tone it down.
To equalize the chances, the court on Nick's side will be extended by 9% bigger in both dimensions, and neither player will have a second serve. So, why exactly is there a 9% difference? The Evolve agency - which represents both players and is in charge of organization of the "Battle of the Sexes" - relies on stats that proves men are 9% faster than women. The lack of a second serve in this match is unlikely to be to Sabalenka's advantage, as even a single serve, albeit slower, is served with much more topspin—Kyrgios is inherently stronger due to his physiology.
Arina seems ready for the battle against Nick, and regardless of the outcome, she can consider herself victorious. Even if Arina loses, at least she will get applause for accepting this challenge, and in case of victory, she will prevail. Her commitment to the match is unwavering, as she has indicated in past interviews. At the same time Nick, whose knee is finally healthy, is pretty much confident in his own victory, and he shared this thought with a First&Red ambassador on the podcast "Tea with Bublik".
The legendary and unique 'Battle of the Sexes' occurred in 1973, when 29-year-old Billie Jean King famously defeated 55-year-old Bobby Riggs over three sets. However, King herself perceives no similarities between that historic event and the upcoming encounter. "Our match was about social change. This one is not. I hope it's a great match. Of course, I want Sabalenka to win. But it's not the same," said the decorated American. Billie Jean was not given any concessions on the court in the form of rule changes; the only thing that could have made a difference in the outcome was the age difference. Nevertheless, King really wanted to win for the sake of social change—prize equality (and other things) between men and women was something she championed throughout her career and after.
Toward the close of the 20th century, the young Williams sisters declared their wish to challenge a male athlete. During the AO-1998 press-conference, Serena noted thather training with men showed her their skill level, leading her to believe she could beat any male player ranked 200 or lower in the ATP. The elder sister, Venus, aimed even higher and said that within a few years Serena and she would be able to compete against men ranked 100 and above. The challenge was accepted by Karsten Braasch, ranked #204 worldwide at the time. The German didn't want much publicity for this event, so the battle was held on the court #17 without referees, cameras, and Karsten's second serve - this was his term. Yet, Karsten was confident in his abilities to defeat the Williams sisters, even requesting to smoke during breaks. Neither smoking, nor golf, nor beer, and nor even a late-night party stopped Karsten from defeating Serena 6/1 and Venus 6/2. The sisters preffered not to remember these games afterwards.
Scheduled for this Sunday, the "Battle of the Sexes" will be held in Dubai and broadcast on TV, complete with cameras, referees, and a large audience. But the show and the media component are paramount here. Beyond the "Battle of the Sexes" itself, the main questions are whether Nick will come back tothe home major, where queues inevitably form at the ticket office for his matches at his beloved John Cain Arena, and whether Arina secures her third AO title, thus avenging her last year's defeat in the Australian Open final.
