Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and get behind-the-scenes access and unrivalled insightJoin the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletterJoin the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletterThe ‘Battle of the Sexes’ tennis exhibition between women’s No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will take place using a modified court and with a single-serve limit. The organisers of the event, the Evolve agency which represents both players, confirmed that the side of the court Sabalenka will defend will be nine per cent smaller than standard. In addition, both Sabalenka and Kyrgios will be limited to one serve each when starting points, in a move that will force both players to prioritise accuracy over speed and has been introduced to neutralise Kyrgios’s natural advantage in power. open image in galleryKyrgios and Sabalenka will have one serve each and the women’s No 1 will defend a smaller side of the court (Getty Images)In the press release announcing the match, Evolve said the nine per cent reduction of Sabalenka’s side of the court has been made to “reflect average movement-speed differences between men and women”. Sabalenka and Kyrgios will play best-of-three sets, with a match tiebreak, to ten points, deciding the winner if required. Kyrgios played just five official matches in 2025 due to injury but is targeting a return in 2026 and plans to enter the Australian Open. Kyrgios, who is ranked 671 in the world due to his injury lay-off, argued for the one-serve limit for both players after Sabalenka was originally meant to have two. “Originally I had two serves but then he got so stressed that he took away one serve,” Sabalenka told Piers Morgan Uncensored in a joint-interview with Kyrgios. “I feel like if she had two serves and I only had one serve I would be the underdog, I’m not even joking,” Kyrgios said. “It would be tough out there.”open image in galleryKyrgios hit a top serving speed of 218kmph / 135 mph at a match at Indian Wells earlier this season (Getty Images)Sabalenka claimed it would be “really tough” to compete against a male player using a full court and standard rules. “I mean, physically they’re much stronger, speed, the power of the balls, everything is much stronger,” the World No 1 said on Piers Morgan Uncensored. “So it’s tough to compete but in these conditions, like we’re having right now with the nine per cent smaller court, I feel like, OK, maybe at least I have a higher…
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2025-12-23 15:38:32
