Why Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ battle of the sexes is an insult to women’s sport |
Dust off the fondue set – the “battle of the sexes” is back.
Women’s tennis world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Australian Nick Kyrgios, currently ranked No.673, in Dubai on December 28.
Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka will play in Dubai on December 28.Credit: Getty Images
In September, Kyrgios said the match was about getting more eyes on tennis. He added that he would defeat the Belarusian without having to try 100 per cent. Sabalenka says the match is a good thing for women’s tennis.
This weekend’s event comes more than half a century after a gold-coated rickshaw pulled by a group of female models – wearing “sugar daddy” T-shirts – carried Bobby Riggs to court to play Billie Jean King. As far as gimmicks go, this one actually had some merit and social purpose.
Billie Jean King raises her arms after defeating Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes. Credit: AP
It was 1973, and second-wave feminism was on the rise when former American tennis champion and self-proclaimed chauvinist Riggs provoked the “Battle of the Sexes”.
He claimed he could beat any of the top female players in the world because, in his view, men were intrinsically superior athletes. He was 55 at the time.
King, 29, ranked........