Sabalenka Warns Kyrgios Before Battle of the Sexes Showdown

Aryna Sabalenka isn’t backing down from Nick Kyrgios’s trash talk about their upcoming Battle of the Sexes match. The world No. 1 has some fighting words of her own after the Australian said she doesn’t stand a chance.

This would be the fourth major Battle of the Sexes match in tennis history. The previous ones featured Margaret Court vs. Bobby Riggs, Billie Jean King vs. Riggs, and Martina Navratilova vs. Jimmy Connors.

The 1992 match between 35-year-old Navratilova and 40-year-old Connors had some rule changes to level the playing field. Connors only got one serve, and Navratilova could hit into parts of the doubles court.

Kyrgios has said they’ll use similar tweaks for his match against Sabalenka. Both players would only get one serve, and he’d play on a smaller court than the WTA star.

Even with those changes working in Sabalenka’s favor, Kyrgios basically dismissed her chances in a recent chat with Alexander Bublik. He claimed he won’t even need to be at 100% to beat her.

Well, Sabalenka heard about those comments.

During a press conference at the 2025 US Open, the three-time Grand Slam champion was asked about facing Kyrgios. She’s definitely aware of what he said, and she’s ready to prove him wrong.

"I think it’s a cool idea. It’s going to be spectacular to watch, it’s going to be fun, especially against someone like Nick. He said in another interview that I genuinely think I’m going to win. I’ll definitely go out there and try my best to kick his ass."

That’s some pretty direct fighting talk right there.

When another reporter asked if this match would be good for women’s tennis, the 27-year-old had a simple answer. It’ll be great if she wins. And she wants to pile the pressure on Kyrgios when they finally play.

"It’s going to be a good thing if I’m able to beat him (laughs). But, for now, we are not sure about the place. Definitely, if we are going to bring it, it will be to somewhere with a lot of people watching, and we’re going to put a lot of pressure on Nick."

Kyrgios told Bublik he’d actually try in the match because he’s representing the ATP side. That could backfire spectacularly if he loses after talking so confidently about beating Sabalenka.

Sabalenka One Win Away From Second US Open Title

Sabalenka’s semifinal win over Jessica Pegula was one of the tournament’s best matches. The Belarusian played incredibly well and saved several break points in the deciding set to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday night.

Pegula has to feel pretty unlucky right now.

She lost this match and last year’s US Open final to Sabalenka despite playing excellent tennis in both. The American could’ve won either match if Sabalenka had been just slightly off her game.

Sabalenka will face Amanda Anisimova in Saturday’s final. They already have some history from a heated 2025 Wimbledon semifinal, which Anisimova won in three sets. Sabalenka was angry about some of her opponent’s behavior during that match, including not apologizing for a lucky net cord.

The Battle of the Sexes match doesn’t have a date yet, but with all this back-and-forth, it’s shaping up to be must-see tennis.