Nick Kyrgios has defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win the latest “Battle of the Sexes” tennis exhibition match.
The injury-wracked Australian maverick, currently ranked 671 in the world, beat the women’s world number one in straight sets 6-3 6-3.
Sunday’s event in Dubai had modified rules where each player was restricted to one serve rather than two, and Sabalenka’s side of the court was reduced in size by 9% to compensate for the difference in speed between men and women.
A 10-point deciding tie-break would have been implemented if required, but Kyrgios needed around 70 minutes to defeat the 27-year-old Belarusian.
There was laughing and joking between the players, some under-arm serves, and even dancing from Sabalenka during a timeout to entertain the crowd at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena.
The pair are represented by the same agency which arranged the exhibition match.
Kyrgios, 30, negotiated the slightly smaller “equaliser” court to break his opponent to love in the third game.
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The next four games went against serve before the Australian held to love to move 5-3 ahead, where he broke Sabalenka again on his way to closing out the opening set.
Sabalenka threatened to force a comeback when she won three consecutive games to go 3-1 up in the second set, where she used her 60-second timeout to dance to the Macarena, before Kyrgios won the next five games and clinched victory on his third match point.
After his win, Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, said it was a “really tough match, she is a hell of a player and such a great champion”.
He added: “I didn’t really know what to expect. She broke my serve numerous times. Honestly, I had to strap in because she was putting the pressure on. She was hitting some amazing shots.”
“I would love to play her again and showcase her talent and what I have left in the tank. Ultimately, it was a really hard-fought battle. There were breaks back and forth.”
Before the Dubai event, Kyrgios had been limited to just six tour-level singles matches since 2023 because of wrist and knee injuries. His most recent match was in March this year.
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Sabalenka won the US Open in August and reached the semi-finals or better in all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, with the Belarusian keen to take positives from her loss into the new season.
She said: “I felt great. I think I put up a great fight and he was struggling. I think it was a great level. I made a lot of great shots, moved a lot to the net, had great drop shots.
“I really enjoyed the show and I feel like next time – when I play him – I already know the tactics. I know his strengths, his weaknesses and it’s going to be a better match for sure.”
The Dubai event had divided opinion in the tennis world.
The so-called “Battle of the Sexes” was a name borrowed from a 1973 match, when Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome.
King won in straight sets and the match took place amid her efforts to start a female tour and get equal pay in tennis.
That exhibition followed Riggs beating Margaret Court earlier that year, while other contests dubbed “Battle of the Sexes” include Jimmy Connors defeating Martina Navratilova in 1992.
