{"id":6794,"date":"2025-12-28T19:46:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T19:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6794"},"modified":"2025-12-28T19:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T19:46:51","slug":"kyrgios-beats-sabalenka-6-3-6-3-in-battle-of-the-sexes-tennis-showdown-tennis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6794","title":{"rendered":"Kyrgios beats Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 tennis showdown | Tennis News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Kyrgios, who is currently 671st in the men\u2019s rankings, beat the four-time Grand Slam singles champion in straight sets.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 28 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">28 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Nick Kyrgios has beaten women\u2019s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d, a highly-publicised showdown with modified rules that divided tennis fans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday that bore little resemblance to the era-defining 1973 encounter between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p class=\"p1\">Back then, there was more at stake, with the nascent women\u2019s professional tour, set up by King, fighting for its legitimacy and prize money for female players still far lower than it was for the men.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">King, one of the all-time greats of the women\u2019s game who was at the peak of her powers at age 29, saw off the 55-year-old Riggs, a top player in his day, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Houston, Texas in the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">On Sunday in Dubai in the UAE, each player received only one serve, and the dimensions of Sabalenka\u2019s side of the court were nine percent smaller, in an attempt to restrict Kyrgios\u2019s power and speed advantage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Kyrgios has dropped to 671 in the rankings after playing just six ATP matches over the past three seasons, but the 30-year-old Australian still had enough to see off four-time Grand Slam singles champion Sabalenka, 27.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The maverick Australian was drenched in sweat and appeared out of breath in the second set \u200cafter going 1-3 down, while his opponent danced to the music \u200cduring a strategic time out. But he \u2060persevered to make it 3-3 after Belarusian Sabalenka sent a shot long.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Kyrgios, who shortened the points with cheeky drop shots \u200cand used variations on his serve to good effect, pulled away to seal the win on serve \u200dbefore sharing a warm hug with Sabalenka at the net.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cHonestly, it was a really tough match. She\u2019s a hell of a competitor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI had to strap in because she was putting the pressure on, and ultimately, it was a really hard-fought battle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka said she would \u201clove\u201d a rematch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt great. I put on a great fight. He was struggling. He was getting tired. I was happy to see that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a great level [of tennis]. I made a lot of great shots. I really enjoyed the show. I feel like next time when I play him, I know all his tactics and strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kyrgios, who is currently 671st in the men\u2019s rankings, beat the four-time Grand Slam singles champion in straight sets. Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Nick Kyrgios has beaten women\u2019s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d, a highly-publicised showdown with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}