Man against woman on the tennis court has often happened in the past. Now Nick Kyrgios vs. Aryna Sabalenka is coming to a new edition of “Battle of the Sexes”, but with some special features and special regulations.
Nick Kyrgios vs Aryna Sabalenka will take place on Sunday, December 28, 2025 in Dubai (UAE). The start is scheduled for 4:45 p.m.
Here you can find all the information about the Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka duel: broadcast, time as well as the special rules and the forecast for the “Battle of the Sexes”.
Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka: Transmission & Time
“Battle of the Sexes”: When will Aryna Sabalenka play Nick Kyrgios?
Between Christmas and New Year, the tennis world is eagerly awaiting the “Battle of the Sexes” between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka, who will compete in Dubai for the “Battle of the Sexes” – with some special features and special regulations.
The gender duel with Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka will take place on December 28, 2025 in Dubai (UAE). The game will be played at the Coca Cola Arena.
The time for the start of “Battle of the Sexes” is 4:45 p.m. our time.
Broadcast: Who will show Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka live on TV & stream?
Tennis fans are eagerly awaiting the gender duel between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka on December 28. The exciting question: Who will broadcast Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka live on stream and TV?
In Germany, the “Battle of the Sexes” with Nick Kyrgios against Aryna Sabalenka will be streamed live on the portal sporteurope.tv.
The Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka stream at sporteurope.tv costs a one-time fee of 5 euros.
“Battle of the Sexes” Tennis Match: The Rules for Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka
The duel between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka will basically be played according to the classic tennis rules. It will be played in a “best-of-three” format, i.e. on two winning sets. If the score is 1:1, the Champions Tiebreak (up to 10 points) decides on victory and defeat.
The special thing about this tennis gender duel will be: There are separate rules for Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka in order to create the fairest possible competitive conditions.
According to organizers Evolve, data shows that female gamers run about 9 percent slower than men on average. Therefore, the dimensions of Sabalenka’s side of the pitch will be 9% smaller. This makes Sabalenka’s side of the pitch 9% smaller than Kyrgios’s.
Prediction: Who will win the tennis gender duel?
On one side is Aryna Sabalenka, the current number 1 in the women’s world rankings. The 28-year-old from Belarus won the US Open in the 2025 season and has won a total of four Grand Slam titles in her career – the Australian Open twice and the US Open twice.
Sabalenka is also a hard court specialist who has won 17 of her 21 WTA titles on this surface. She has one of the hardest serves in the history of women’s tennis.
Nick Kyrgios has been injured for years and has not played an official match since March. Most recently, the 30-year-old Australian played at the Masters tournament in Miami, but lost there in round 2 against Karen Khachanov in straight sets after an opening win against Mackenzie MacDonald. He is currently ranked 652nd in the ATP world rankings.
Kyrgios, usually a loudmouth, is surprisingly meek before the gender duel against Sabalenka.
“It’s going to be a great show, and it’s an honor for me to share the space with her. I know that I will be very nervous, because facing Sabalenka is an immense challenge – but also a great motivation. I have a lot of respect for Aryna, she has a strong first serve. I’ll have to give everything to win.”
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Roger Rasheed, former manager of Lleyton Hewitt, told ABC Sport: “I’m not a fan of it, honestly. Women’s tennis can only lose. I even find that quite offensive. I don’t see a single second in which the world number 1 can win anything here.”
Sabalenka is relaxed for the gender duel against Kyrgios and counters: “We’re there to have fun and show great tennis. Whoever wins, wins. It’s clear that a man is biologically stronger – but that’s not the point.”
Her view: The pressure is on Kyrgios, not on her. The event is there to raise women’s tennis to a higher level.
Garbine Muguruza, former world No. 1, is also critical of the duel and gives a clear Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka prediction: “I had so many male training partners, and every time I played a practice match against them, I was totally frustrated at the end,” she said at El Partidazo de COPE. “How can it be that I don’t win a set against someone who isn’t even a professional, just a sparring partner? When I was at my highest level, as number 1, I wouldn’t have beaten even a junior.”
Whether the sports betting providers will also offer betting odds for Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka is still open. As this is a show event, there may be no betting odds offered.
Have there already been gender duels in tennis?
In tennis history, there have already been three official matches between men and women.
The first “Battle of the Sexes” (German: The Battle of the Sexes) took place on May 13, 1973 between the then 30-year-old Margaret Court and the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. Court was the current number 1 in women’s tennis at the time and was clearly defeated by Riggs 6-2, 6-1. The first “gender duel” on the tennis court went down in history as the “Mother’s Day massacre”.
In September 1973, Bobby Riggs was at the second “Battle of the Sexes”, this time the then 29-year-old Billie Jean King was the opponent of the 55-year-old. Billie Jean King won in three sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-3) against Riggs, who was almost twice his age, who had won the men’s singles at Wimbledon 34 years earlier (1939).
40 years after the match, Hal Shaw explained that he had overheard two mafia bosses planning Riggs’ deliberate defeat. In return, he is said to have been forgiven $100,000 in debt. In addition, money was to be transferred to an English bank account. Riggs denied losing on purpose until his death in 1995.
The third official “Battle of the Sexes” in tennis history took place on September 25, 1992 between Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors in Las Vegas (USA) at Ceasars Palace.
The match was played under asymmetrical rules to make it more exciting. Connors had only one serve per point (Navratilova two) and played on a much larger court. Connors won 7-5 and 6-2. Navratilova made eight double faults and 36 unforced errors. Connors wrote in his book “The Outsider” that he had bet a million dollars that Navratilova would make no more than eight games.
Karsten Braash vs. Serena and Venus Williams
Another gender duel on the tennis court took place in 1998 as part of the Australian Open. The Williams sisters Venus and Serena had claimed they could beat any male player who is not in the top 200 of the world rankings. The German Karsten Braasch, then number 203 in the world rankings, challenged both.
The “Battle of the Sexes” took place in 12th place at Melbourne Park, after Braasch had already played a round of golf and drunk two shandy. He first competed against Serena and won 6:1 after a 5:0 lead. At a change of sides, he demonstratively treated himself to a cigarette. Then Venus entered the court and Braasch was victorious again – this time 6-2.
