The tennis world is buzzing about Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios‘s upcoming Battle of the Sexes match. And not everyone’s happy about it.
Former ATP pro Steve Johnson didn’t mince words when he heard the news. He thinks the whole thing is pretty ridiculous.
The match between the WTA world No. 1 and ATP No. 658 will happen on December 28th in Dubai. Both players say they’re excited about facing off against each other.
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But here’s where it gets controversial.
This will be only the fourth major Battle of the Sexes match in tennis history. The most famous one happened way back in 1973 when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs. That match was huge for women’s tennis.
The problem? A lot of people think this match could backfire.
Critics worry that if Kyrgios beats Sabalenka – even with rule changes like giving her a bigger court to hit into – it’ll make the WTA look bad. And let’s be honest, Kyrgios is ranked way lower but he’s still a guy who made it to a Wimbledon final.
There’s another issue that’s got people talking. Kyrgios admitted in court that he pushed his ex-girlfriend. He didn’t get convicted, but some fans don’t want someone with that history playing against the women’s No. 1.
Sabalenka sees it differently though. She thinks it’s a win-win situation since most people expect Kyrgios to win anyway. She can just go out there and try to make things uncomfortable for him.
She did admit that losing sets 6-0 would look pretty bad.
Johnson spoke pretty bluntly on the Nothing Major Podcast. He doesn’t trust that Kyrgios will even try his best – which could make the whole thing one-sided and boring.
"I think it’s ridiculous to be honest. If they’re going to play, just play all out. If not, I’m just saying I think this whole thing is ridiculous. There’s no need to do it. We’re going to get nowhere with this, especially if you’re going to change serves, parameters, parameters, courts. The effort from Nick is always going to be a question mark and that’s it. I don’t know, like I’m not going to watch a second of it to be honest."
Johnson’s not planning to watch a single minute of it.
Other pros have mixed feelings about the whole thing
Jack Sock, who used to be Kyrgios’s doubles partner, has a different take. He thinks trying new things is good for tennis, but he’s not sure about changing the rules.
"I would probably assume, I probably won’t be watching much of it. Obviously, if I’m around for sure I’ll tune in just to see what it looks like…I think always growing the sport, always doing new things, always adding an exho or some element to the game of some event, I think is great."
Sock thinks the Dubai crowd will be amazing. But he’s not sold on the modified rules.
"It seems like there’s a lot of fans, people love tennis over in Dubai. So I’m sure the crowd will be great. I’m not sure about a smaller court on one side and one serve. I think it could be a little strange."
Sam Querrey is more excited about the match itself. His main worry? That Kyrgios won’t actually try.
"I’m excited for it. My only issue is I don’t trust Nick to try. I would love Nick to just play a normal match, two out of three serves, normal court, and just like Nick, try as hard as you can. Let’s see what happens. There’s zero chance that happens with Nick."
Querrey would rather see them play with normal rules and maximum effort. Just to see what would really happen.
The match is still weeks away, but it’s already got everyone in tennis talking. Whether that’s good or bad for the sport? That’s probably going to depend on what actually happens on December 28th.
