Aryna Sabalenka vs Nick Kyrgios Battle of the Sexes: How to watch live as tennis stars face off in exhibition match
Tennis fans are being treated to a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match starring two of the biggest names in the sport.
Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka will play Wimbledon 2022 finalist Nick Kyrgios in a special match live from Dubai.
Belarusian star Sabalenka has backed herself to come out on top in the match-up, hoping to emulate Billie Jean King in her infamous victory over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes match. The 27-year-old told reporters: “This event is really unpredictable. I don’t know what to expect and that’s what I love because this is the feeling that you chase when you play sport.
“I love to challenge myself and this is a huge challenge, especially playing against Nick, a guy who is unpredictable and crazy. It’s great training for me and a great message to the girls out there – I hope they will see how strong and tough I am by playing against a guy.”
Kyrgios meanwhile is only in the early stages of returning to playing this year after being sidelined with injuries that ruled him out of competing in most major tournaments, with his last match coming way back in March. His injury break has seen the Aussie star slip to 673 in the men’s world ranking.
Kyrgios said: “I’ve seen some pretty scary opponents on my time. I’m well equipped and I know that Aryna has got some serious weapons at her disposal. But I have come here prepared and ready. If you know me, you know how unpredictable I am, but I’m as well prepared as I possibly could be. I feel like I’m going to win.
“I haven’t won a grand slam but I’ve walked out in a grand slam final. This is something completely different, I don’t know how my body or my mind will react. It’s a completely different energy. I’m going to bring something different, for sure. My strength has always been my unpredictability, even on the men’s tour.
He added: “Guys like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have struggled with not understanding how to play me at certain times because even I don’t know what I’m going to do at certain times. I’m going to bring something she hasn’t seen before. I’ll play the style of tennis that I know is effective.”
How to watch Aryna Sabalenka vs Nick Kyrgios Battle of the Sexes match
Tennis fans are in for a treat, as the match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios will be free-to-watch for UK viewers. You will be able to tune into the highly-anticipated match live from 3.45pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, December 28.
Th exhibition match will be best of three sets, and will include a 10-point tie-breaker if it goes to a deciding set.