E-Paper
Aryna Sabalenka, Nick Kyrgios break silence on 'Battle of Sexes' getting widespread criticism: ‘Brought more eyes’
Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios finally react on ‘Battle of Sexes’ gaining widespread criticism.
Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios have finally broken their silence on their ‘Battle of Sexes’ match, which got widespread criticism. The duo defended the contest, saying their are having difficulty in understanding how an exhibition match which had its aim of making the sport reach new and new destinations, is garnering so much negativity from so many corners, including the tennis fraternity. It is worth mentioning that Kyrgios defeated World No.3 Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 at a sold-out Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday.
The organisers of the ‘Battle of Sexes’ had implemented many rule changes to level the playing field for the contest between Sabalenka and Kyrgios.
Ever since the game was announced between the two, there was criticism from naysayers as they believed the match had the potential of trivialising the 1973 original ‘Battle of the Sexes’ played out between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. In the original contest, King had defeated the then-55-year-old former Grand Slam winner Bobby Riggs.
Also Read: ‘Utter nonsense, waste of time’: Sabalenka vs Kyrgios 'Battle of the Sexes' draws fire; fans fume at pointless spectacle
“I honestly don’t understand how people were able to find something negative in this event. I think for the WTA, I just showed that I was playing great tennis; it was an entertaining match, it wasn’t like 6-0, 6-0. It was a great fight, it was interesting to watch, and it brought more eyes to tennis,” Sabalenka told reporters after the match ended.
"The idea behind it is to help our sport grow and show tennis from a different side, that tennis events can be fun and we can make it almost as big as Grand Slam matches,” she added.
Earlier, Billie Jean King had slammed the fixture between Kyrgios and Sabalenka, saying the encounter between the two didn't have much at stake, while former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs labelled the event as a publicity stunt and money grab.
What did Kyrgios have to say?
Kyrgios also defended the match against Sabalenka, saying his opponent was extremely competitive and the contest had the potential to become a cultural movement.
“Let me just remind you that I’m one of 16 people who have ever beaten the ‘Big Four’ – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal have all lost to me. She just proved she can go out there and compete against someone who’s beaten the greatest of all time. There’s nothing but positive that can be taken away from this," said Kyrgios.
“I’m sure the next time we do it, if I’m a part of it and if she’s a part of it, it’ll be a cultural movement that will happen more often, and I think it’s a step in the right direction," he concluded.
