Tennis star Iga Swiatek fires dig at world No 1 rival Aryna Sabalenka with Battle of the Sexes verdict after controversial Nick Kyrgios conflict

Iga Swiatek admitted that she had been uninterested in the controversial Battle of the Sexes match between her WTA peer Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios last month and shared that she didn’t think the women’s game ‘needed’ the mixed-gender contest. 

Kyrgios beat the women’s No 1 in straight sets in Dubai after months of promoting the clash, which bears the same name as the landmark battle between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs 52 years ago.

Despite suggestions that the match was meant to be for entertainment purposes only by both players, there was little joy in the somewhat drab affair, which featured no first serves, and Sabalenka playing on a much smaller court, as well as serving to highlight Kyrgios lack of match fitness as he played only his eighth match of 2025. 

Sabalenka, who received criticism from the match’s detractors for opting to take part in the match-up, said that she had also done so in a bid to lift up women’s tennis and attract new fans to the women’s game. 

But world No 2 Swiatek argued that the sport could speak for itself on the tour – although stating that she hadn’t actually watched the match.    

‘No, I haven’t watched, because I don’t watch stuff like that,’ Swiatek said while featuring for her native Poland in United Cup action. ‘I think for sure it attracted a lot of attention. 

Iga Swiatek did not hold back in her critique of last month’s Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was frustrated by Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in December

‘It was an entertainment, but I wouldn’t say that had anything to do with, like, social change or any important topics. 

‘I think the name was just the same as the one from the Billie Jean King match in ’73. That’s it. There were no more similarities because I feel like women’s tennis stands on its own right now. 

‘We have so many great athletes and great stories to present, we don’t necessarily need to, like, compare to men’s tennis. It’s a totally different story. I think there doesn’t need to be any competition.’

King agreed with Swiatek in the build-up to last Sunday’s match, saying that she saw no resemblance to her groundbreaking victory, which helped shift perspectives on women’s tennis as she took on the self-declared ‘male chauvinist pig’ Riggs. 

‘The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,’ King said. 

‘Everything else, no. Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. This one is not.

‘I hope it’s a great match – I want Sabalenka, obviously, to win – but it’s just not the same.’

Swiatek instead argued that she sees mixed-gender events as a possible route into following women’s tennis for fans of the men’s game. 

The event may have shared the same name as the landmark clash between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs but bore little resemblance to it

‘I think actually events like this one, United Cup, brings tennis all together, and WTA fans and ATP fans can watch this event with so much excitement,’ she added. 

‘Seeing also singles players that usually don’t have space to play mixed doubles together, playing these kind of matches, I think this is actually what makes our sport much more interesting and better. 

So yeah, I haven’t watched the match. I only know about how it looked like. But I think it was for sure nice entertainment and an (exhibition) match between these two.’