Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will update the Battle of the Sexes format with their controversial match in Dubai.
The two stars will collide over 50 years after Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs made the format famous back in 1973.
There has been criticism for Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ match, but it is not the first time a man and a woman have competed since 1973.
Li Na and Novak Djokovic took part in an exhibition match in 2013, which surprisingly went the way of the Chinese star.
Li Na defeated Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match at the China Open
In October 2013, Djokovic and Li played a best-of-five mini set in Beijing to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the China Open.
Djokovic has won the China Open a record six times, including a remarkable run of four victories in a row between 2012 and 2015.
Novak Djokovic would be the undisputed GOAT if he won Grand Slam number 25 – could anyone argue otherwise?
The Serbian’s match with Li was very much in jest and Djokovic did not take the match seriously at all, even at one point swapping places with one of the ball boys.
Additionally, Li was given a 30–0 advantage in every game, which more than levelled the playing field between the two.
Li won the match 3–2 and, despite the obvious advantages she was given, will also have had a victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Other notable Battle of the Sexes-style matches in tennis history
Several male vs female matches have taken place since Riggs vs King in 1973, with results that have gone either way.
Two matches took place in 1975, with Bjorn Borg facing Virginia Wade and Evonne Goolagong Cawley taking on Ilie Nastase.
Borg defeated Wade in a single set, but Goolagong Cawley evened the score by beating Nastase 7-5 in the next match.
| Battle of the Sexes match | Year | Winner |
| Virginia Wade vs Bjorn Borg | 1975 | Bjorn Borg |
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley vs Ilie Năstase | 1975 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| Karsten Braasch vs Venus Williams | 1988 | Karsten Braasch |
| Karsten Braasch vs Serena Williams | 1998 | Karsten Braasch |
| Yannick Noah vs Justine Henin-Hardenne | 2003 | Yannick Noah |
| Novak Djokovic vs Li Na | 2013 | Li Na |
| Johanna Konta vs Pat Cash | 2017 | Johanna Konta |
| Iga Swiatek vs Hubert Hurkacz | 2021 | Iga Swiatek |
| Mirra Andreeva vs. Yanis Ghazouani Durand | 2023 | Yanis Ghazouani Durand |
The Williams sisters, when they were just teenagers, played a set against World No. 203 Karsten Braasch in Melbourne. Braasch defeated both sisters and dropped just three games.
More recently, Iga Swiatek defeated Hubert Hurkacz in a tie-break ahead of the 2021 Poland Open and Johanna Konta won a set against Pat Cash in London in 2017.
