Poland’s world No. 2 and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has weighed in on the controversial “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios, offering a blunt assessment of its value to the sport. Speaking at a press conference ahead of her United Cup campaign in Sydney on January 2, Swiatek said she does not believe the exhibition served any meaningful purpose, stressing that women’s tennis does not need such spectacles to validate its quality or appeal.
The high-profile match, held in Dubai on December 28, 2025, generated global attention due to its provocative branding. Kyrgios ultimately defeated Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 under modified rules intended to level the contest. While the event succeeded as entertainment, Swiatek and others within the tennis world questioned whether it offered anything beyond publicity.
Iga Swiatek’s Response And Context Of The Dubai Match
At the United Cup press event, Iga Swiatek made her position unmistakably clear. She revealed that she did not watch the Dubai exhibition and deliberately chose not to engage with it as a benchmark for women’s tennis.
While acknowledging that the match attracted significant attention, Swiatek told reporters it “had nothing to do with social change or any important topics,” adding that its only real connection to the original 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs Battle of the Sexes was its name.
Swiatek expanded on her view by emphasizing the depth and quality of the modern women’s game, noting that today’s tour is filled with exceptional athletes and compelling stories. She stressed that women’s tennis does not need gender-comparative exhibitions to validate or promote its value.
“We don’t necessarily need to compare to men’s tennis,” she said, underscoring her belief that the women’s sport stands firmly on its own merits.
In contrast, Swiatek voiced her support for mixed-team competitions such as the United Cup, describing them as a far more effective model for collaboration between genders. She pointed to the appeal of mixed doubles and varied match formats, highlighting how these events unite WTA and ATP fans while bringing added excitement and cohesion to the sport.
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The Dubai match itself featured rule tweaks, such as limiting each player to one serve per point and reducing Sabalenka’s court dimensions by approximately 9 percent, meant to make the contest more balanced.
Players involved held differing views: Sabalenka described the experience as a positive challenge and training opportunity, suggesting future rematches could be more competitive, while Kyrgios praised Sabalenka’s athleticism and reflected on his own recovery from past injuries that had limited his play.
Aryna Sabalenka And Nick Kyrgios Push Back Against Backlash After Dubai Exhibition
Inside Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena, the atmosphere surrounding the much-debated “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition told a revealing story of its own. The 17,000-seat venue operated with its upper tier closed, creating a smaller sell-out crowd that struggled to generate sustained energy.
Early on, the audience largely rallied behind Aryna Sabalenka, with cheers greeting her winning points. However, as Nick Kyrgios began to assert control, the noise levels steadily faded.
Kyrgios had previously promised star power to elevate the spectacle, but only Brazilian football legends Ronaldo Nazario and Kaka made notable appearances. Their arrival midway through the opening set briefly lifted the mood inside the arena.
Still, as Kyrgios closed in on victory, television cameras captured a moment that quickly went viral: a young child asleep in their mother’s arms — an image critics later seized upon as symbolic of an event that struggled to hold the crowd’s attention. Despite the backlash, Sabalenka strongly defended the exhibition afterward.
She said, “I honestly don’t understand how people were able to find something negative in this event. I think for the WTA, I just showed that I was playing great tennis; it was an entertaining match, it wasn’t like 6-0, 6-0. It was a great fight, it was interesting to watch, and it brought more eyes to tennis.”
The world No. 1 and reigning US Open champion also explained the broader goal behind the matchup. “The idea behind it is to help our sport grow and show tennis from a different side, that tennis events can be fun and we can make it almost as big as Grand Slam matches,” Sabalenka added.
Kyrgios echoed those sentiments while firmly backing both the concept and his opponent. When questioned about the competitiveness of the contest, he pointed to his own resume. “Let me just remind you that I’m one of 16 people who have ever beaten the ‘Big Four’ – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal have all lost to me,” he said.
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He concluded by presenting the exhibition as a possible blueprint rather than a one-off spectacle. “She just proved she can go out there and compete against someone who’s beaten the greatest of all time. There’s nothing but positive that can be taken away from this,” Kyrgios said.
He added, “I’m sure the next time we do it, if I’m a part of it and if she’s a part of it, it’ll be a cultural movement that will happen more often, and I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
With Iga Swiatek’s comments now adding further scrutiny, debate surrounding the modern-day “Battle of the Sexes” continues to intensify. The contrasting reactions from players underscore a broader divide within tennis over how best to promote and evolve the sport beyond traditional competition formats.
