Greg Rusedski reveals why Martina Navratilova once turned down the offer of Battle of the Sexes

Greg Rusedski claims he was told Martina Navratilova was offered to play against a male player when she was the top-ranked player in the game, but he turned it down.

On Sunday, WTA world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Nick Kyrgios in Dubai. It will be the first battle of the sexes in the 21st century.

The competition has received both positive and negative attention. While some are very excited to see the showdown between Sabalenka and Kyrgios, there is also a group that strongly opposes the match, claiming that it could ‘damage women’s tennis’.

Rusedski, the 1997 US Open runner-up, thinks there are definitely some “tricky things” about a WTA player facing an ATP player. And apparently he heard that former 18-time Grand Slam champion Navratilova received a similar offer when she was in her prime.

Rusedski: Navratilova decided this was not in the best interest of the game

“I believe this is true. Someone told me that years ago, when Martina Navratilova was world No. 1, she was offered $1 million to do that. [take on a man] and she decided not to. She decided that this was not in the best interest of the game. Here’s the tricky part, we’re all talking about it, so it brings our attention. So as a tennis purist, I’m not sure this is for the best,” Rusedski said on his podcast.

Despite the criticism, Sabalenka sees no problems regarding the meeting with Kyrgios.

“I am not endangering myself. It is so clear that man is biologically stronger than woman, but that is not the point. This event will only take women’s tennis to the next level,” four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Navratilova actually played against a male player once. However, it happened in 1973, five years before she won her first Grand Slam singles title.