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this ‘battle of the sexesTennis performance between women’s number one Alina Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios It will be played using a modified court with a single serve limit.
Tournament organizer Evolve agency, which represents both players, confirmed that the side of the court Sabalenka will defend will be 9 percent smaller than a standard court.
In addition, Sabalenka and Kyrgios will be limited to one serve each in their first starts, a move that will force both players to prioritize accuracy over speed and is intended to offset Kyrgios’ natural advantage in strength.
In a press release announcing the match, Evolve said the 9% reduction in the field on Sabalenka’s side was to “reflect the difference in average moving speed between men and women.”
Sabalenka and Kyrgios will play a best-of-three-set match with tie-breaks that will result in 10 points and a tiebreaker if needed. Kyrgios will only play 5 official games in 2025 due to injury But the goal is to return in 2026 and plans to compete in the Australian Open.
Kyrgios, who missed the match due to injury and is ranked 671st in the world, advocated a one-serve limit for both players when Sabalenka originally planned to serve twice.
“Initially I served twice, but then he got too stressed and he canceled one,” Sabalenka told Piers Morgan Uncensored In a joint interview with Kyrgios.
“I feel like if she had two serves and I had one, I would be at a disadvantage, and I’m not even kidding,” Kyrgios said. “It’s going to be tough out there.”
Sabalenka claimed that it was “very difficult” to compete against male players in a full-court match and under standard rules.
“I mean, their physicality, their speed, the power of the ball, everything is stronger,” said the world number one. Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“So it’s difficult to compete, but in this situation, like we have a field that’s nine percent smaller now, I feel like, well, maybe at least I have a higher chance of playing and seeing if I can win this game. Maybe I’ll go and play in a regular game if I can.”
The exhibition match, held in Dubai and to be broadcast live by the BBC, is a taste of the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” when women’s number one Billie Jean King defeated former men’s number one Bobby Riggs, 55, a self-described “macho man”.
King, who defeated Riggs in straight sets in front of 30,000 spectators at Houston’s Astrodome, refused to compare her victory over Riggs to the match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios, telling the BBC that her victory was about “social change”.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” said King, now 82. “Everything else, no. Our games are about social change; culturally speaking, where we were in 1973. This one is not. I hope it’s a good game. Obviously, I hope Sabalenka wins. But it’s just different.”