BBC pressured to apologise earlier than Nick Kyrgios thrashes Aryna Sabalenka in Battle of the Sexes
The BBC was forced to issue an on-air apology during coverage of Nick Kyrgios vs Aryna Sabalenka’s Battle of the Sexes exhibition match in Dubai
The BBC was forced to issue an on-air apology due to a technical glitch during Nick Kyrgios’ showdown with Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.
The exhibition match, branded as the Battle of the Sexes, occurred in Dubai on a specially designed court that was reduced in size on Sabalenka’s half. Kyrgios has battled against injuries and has tumbled down the ranking due to his inactivity, but the 30-year-old made comfortable work of the straight-sets victory.
BBC obtained broadcasting rights and aired the match on BBC One, alongside their iPlayer platform. Everything proceeded smoothly until a technical fault emerged during the second set, resulting in a complete loss of visual feed.
This left commentator Andrew Castle awkwardly attempting to fill the gap until transmission was restored several minutes later. Viewers found themselves unable to see any of the action during the interruption, with only sound remaining available.
Consequently, the BBC switched to an aerial view of the venue and displayed an on-screen message stating: “Apologies for the loss of pictures.”
Castle also took it upon himself to address viewers, saying: “I’m not sure what you’re seeing at home but we have lost our pictures here. I can see that Sabalenka has broken.”
Coverage of the match was able to resume after a delay of a few minutes, but the footage was still glitchy as the camera panned around the crowd inside the arena.
“We are struggling a bit with the pictures from Dubai and here are some people sitting at their tables,” said Castle. “We’ll do our very best to get them back.
“We’ve got some pictures back. Again, apologies for a little bit of a break-up in the pictures. When I say a little bit, I mean a lot.”
The controversial match was criticised by Billie Jean King in the build-up, questioning the need for the world’s best female player to take on a man whose career has faltered due to injuries and inactivity.
King famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the original Battle of the Sexes in 1973. She said: “The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it.”
Kyrgios avoided any shocks as he won the match after taking both sets 6-3. It remains to be seen whether the Aussie will play in the Australian Open.
Speaking after the match, Sabalenka said: “I felt great, I think I put on a great fight. He was struggling and getting really tired. I’m happy to see the guys were getting tired.
“I really enjoyed the show and I feel like next time when I play him, I’ll know his tactics, his strengths and weaknesses and it’ll be much better for sure.”
While Kyrgios praised Sabalenka’s performance, saying: “Honestly, it was a really tough match. She’s a hell of a competitor and obviously such a great champion. She’s a multiple Grand Slam champion.
“I didn’t know what to expect. As I said before this, whatever role I was about to play, it was another great opportunity to go out here. She broke my serve numerous times.
“Honestly, I had to strap in. She was putting the pressure on, hitting some amazing shots. I would love to play her again to showcase her talent and show what I have got left in the tank.”
