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Male tennis subordinate Nick Kyrgios has revealed that helium and a pistillate prima who is presently competing astatine Wimbledon were “thinking astir doing a ‘Battle of the Sexes’” aboriginal this year.
Kyrgios, 30, is presently retired injured, aft helium was forced to propulsion retired of Wimbledon and the French Open, having battled respective wounded problems successful caller years.
In March, erstwhile playing his archetypal lucifer since January astatine the archetypal circular of Indian Wells, helium retired wounded owed to a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, an ongoing genu wounded saw him miss Wimbledon, meaning the Australian has not appeared astatine the All England Club since reaching the tournament’s last successful 2022, during which helium was beaten by Novak Djokovic.
But the 30-year-old is ne'er acold from the spotlight and has raised a fewer eyebrows with a caller proposition of an intergender lucifer with a pistillate tennis star.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the Australian explained: "[Aryna] Sabalenka and I are reasoning astir doing a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ aboriginal successful the twelvemonth wherever the tribunal is going to beryllium somewhat smaller for me, with 1 serve.
"So, we’re going to bash it connected a smaller court, a somewhat smaller tribunal I’m playing in, somewhat smaller than the accustomed tennis court."
Nick Kyrgios successful enactment (Credit:Getty)
Rather than pursuing the accustomed rules of games and sets, the brace would alternatively play eight-minute quarters, with the victor being the archetypal to scope three.
"We get 1 serve, and we’re reasoning astir doing it aboriginal successful the twelvemonth successful Hong Kong,” Kyrgios added.
"This is going to beryllium thing that I’m truly tense for, to beryllium honest, due to the fact that she’s successful her implicit premier close present and she’s getting the woody legs of me.
“But I’m inactive feeling assured that I’ll get her."
Aryna Sabalenka successful enactment astatine Wimbledon (Credit:Getty)
Sabalenka, 27, is presently ranked arsenic the satellite fig 1 by the WTA and boasts 3 Grand Slam titles – the 2023 Australian Open, 2024 Australian Open, and 2024 US Open.
UTS was established successful 2023 with events taking spot successful London, Frankfurt and Los Angeles.
The event’s founder, Patrick Mouratoglou, antecedently coached Serena Williams, and explained the reasons for creating the tournament.
"We're going to bash everything we tin to get young radical to come, obviously,” Mouratoglou told TNT Sports.
“And I deliberation it's an innovation successful the consciousness that we mean to fto the assemblage explicit themselves completely, which is perfectly not the lawsuit successful the classical tournaments. Because the things you perceive the astir are 'shhhh, delight beryllium quiet'.
"We're going to bash the other and we're going to promote radical to explicit each their emotions because, successful fact, for me, athletics is axenic emotion, and I deliberation that players are susceptible of playing successful noise. They are conscionable not utilized to it."
Have ‘Battle of the Sexes’ happened before?
Yes, intergender tennis matches person taken spot connected respective occasions.
On May 13, 1973, Bobby Riggs, a six-time large winner, faced Margaret Court, a 24-time large winner.
Court, who was 30 astatine the time, stepped successful aft being offered $20,000 and had lone precocious returned to the crippled pursuing the commencement of her child.
But Riggs won convincingly with a people of 6-2, 6-1.
Then, connected September 20, 1973, Riggs faced different pistillate prima erstwhile helium took connected Billie Jean King successful Houston.
And to the astonishment of many, King won 6-4 6-3 6-3. However, it indispensable beryllium considered that Riggs was 55 and King was conscionable 29.
Nineteen years later, a 3rd ‘Battle of the Sexes’ took spot betwixt Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova successful Las Vegas.
A 40-year-old Connors bushed a 35-year-old Navratilova 7-6 6-2.
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