Just In: Aryna Sabalenka refuses to play with Nick Kyrgios again months after controversial ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition
Aryna Sabalenka has made a cryptic admission about Nick Kyrgios almost eight months after the two played each other in the controversial Battle of the Sexes exhibition match. The high-profile exhibition had drawn plenty of criticism, with many critics targeting the reigning World No. 1 in women’s singles tennis over her partcipation. According to Sabalenka, if she does play such a match again in future, it won’t be against Kyrgios.
In a recent interview with Time Magazine, Aryna Sabalenka opined that Nick Kyrgios was ‘tight’ during their exhibition clash in Dubai and as a result, wasn’t ‘fun’ to play against.
“Nick was so tight, so he couldn’t really bring some fun,” the Belarusian said.
Going on to lay bare her hope of playing another Battle of the Sexes match, but against a different opponent, the four-time singles major champion added:
“I would do it with someone else. He lost trust.”
According to Time Magazine, when Sabalenka was asked to elaborate on her stance on playing Kyrgios going forward, she declined. It’s worth noting that the Australian ATP star had won the controversial exhibition match 6-3, 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka’s latest Nick Kyrgios take contrasts what Belarusian said in the aftermath of their Battle of the Sexes meeting
Shortly after her Battle of the Sexes participation in late December last year, Aryna Sabalenka headed to Brisbane, Australia for her Brisbane International campaign. Here, following her dominant second-round win over Cristina Bucsa, the Belarusian reflected on what she took away from her experience of competing against former ATP No. 13 Nick Kyrgios. It was a far cry from what she more recently told Time Magazine.
In terms of competitive tennis action on the WTA Tour, things have been rough for the two-time reigning US Open champion lately. She was shockingly eliminated from the Canadian Open by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round. Up next for her is the Cincinnati Open, followed by this year’s US Open, where she will bid to become the first woman since Serena Williams to achieve a ‘threepeat’.
