It’s no secret that Sabalenka has faced criticism and backlash for signing up for the Battle of the Sexes.
Sabalenka spent all of 2025 as the top-ranked player in the game. And some fear that if she suffers a heavy defeat against Kyrgios – who has hardly played much in recent years – it could be used to fuel certain negative stories about women’s tennis.
However, it will not match standard rules. Sabalenka’s part of the playing field will be nine percent smaller in length and width than Kyrgios’. Each person receives only one service. If the match goes into a third set, a match tiebreak will be played.
Petchey, who worked with Raducanu between March and July, suggests there is no need to make a big fuss about Sunday’s match in Dubai.
Petchey: The match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios will not harm tennis
“The Battle of Sexes won’t do any damage to tennis. The Battle of the Sexes is also pointless in its current form. But if it allows non-tennis fans to watch and get involved in watching/playing tennis, then it has done the only thing it can do,” Petchey wrote on X.
The Battle of Sexes will not do any damage to tennis.
The battle of the sexes is also pointless in its current form.
But if non-tennis fans watch and therefore get involved in watching/playing tennis, then that’s all it could do.
— Mark Petchey (@_markpetchey) December 23, 2025
When Sabalenka was asked about talk that she could damage women’s tennis, she quickly denied the idea.
“I don’t agree with that. I’m not endangering myself… It’s so clear that man is biologically stronger than woman, but that’s not the point. This event is only going to take women’s tennis to the next level,” Sabalenka told the BBC.
#Raducanus #excoach #calls #Aryna #SabalenkaNick #Kyrgios #Battle #Sexes #pointless