Nick Kyrgios has piled pressure on his shoulders ahead of the controversial Battle of the Sexes clash against world number one Aryna Sabalenka. The exhibition will take place 28th December at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai.
The world number 652 has played a measly four singles matches this year, with the most recent coming back in the Miami Open in March. A ‘cooked’ knee and wrist surgery has seen his progress in the sport severely slowed, basically coming to a complete standstill.
After reaching the final of Wimbledon in 2022, he followed that up with a US Open quarter-final. It looked like he had found his mojo on court, rising back into the top 20 for the first time since the start of 2020. However, that US Open campaign would be the last Grand Slam he would compete in until the beginning of this year, where he was dumped out in his home event against Jacob Fearnley in an anticlimatic return to the sport.
Time competing on the court has been replaced by constant injury setbacks and time away from the game. A return to the court is highly anticipated for the colourful Aussie, who is confident when clashing against Sabalenka. “I’m going to be ready, I feel good about it,” he told Australian Associated Press.
Determined for a triumphant return
The clash has been met by a barrage of criticism and concern from tennis fans and public. Even with Sabalenka given a slight advantage with her side of the court shrunk by 9% and second serves banned, many believe that Kyrgios will comfortably trounce her.
While that is a worry for many, that is a dream scenario for the 30-year-old. “I was in Hong Kong recently and a lot of the male players were like, ‘Look, you’re representing all of us.’ So here I am in the firing line again,” he said. “I’m not a stranger to taking the heat from the media, but I’m excited whatever the result may be. I’m going to go out there and show the world that as good as she is, she’s got some weaknesses.”
‘One of the greatest of all time women’s players’
Kyrgios was very quick to give his opponent her flowers. “Obviously you’ve got one potentially, I think, one of the greatest of all time women’s players and she’s not even almost close to scratching the surface of what she can achieve.” He went on to make a confident prediction: “I think she wins multiple more Grand Slams,” he said.
Sabalenka has continued her imperious form on the court in 2025. Apart from Wimbledon (semi-final) she has made the last stage of every Grand Slam event, overcoming the heartbreak of prior defeats in the year to clinch her second US Open title. Added to that, she collected a brace of WTA 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, and is currently targeting a maiden WTA Finals title in Riyadh.
While competing with the best eight female players in the world, she has been asked numerous questions about the upcoming clash with Kyrgios. “She’s honestly been talking a little bit more about this match than I have,” Kyrgios admitted. “But I’m ready to take the challenge. I’m going to go out there and, in all honesty, it’s a lot of pressure for me too.”
Confident for a positive result
Despite lumping all the pressure onto himself, Kyrgios was beaming with confidence that he would defeat the four-time Grand Slam champion. “Look, I’m very confident,” he said. “I mean, look there’s been 16 people that have ever walked the earth that have beaten the Big Three and the Big Four.
Once again, he covered all angles: “I’m quite confident but at the same time I’m very aware she’s dangerous.”
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