Nick Kyrgios beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday in a ¡°Battle of the Sexes¡± exhibition match billed as a modern take on Billie Jean King¡¯s famous win over Bobby Riggs over 50 years ago, but one that ignited controversy over its relevance and meaning.
The clash between four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka and former world No. 13 Kyrgios was billed as entertainment but critics warned that it risked reducing women¡¯s tennis to a sideshow and trivializing its progress toward equality.
The ?match that gave the event its name was the 1973 ¡°Battle of the Sexes¡± when women¡¯s tennis pioneer King beat 55-year-old former Grand ?Slam winner ?Riggs, who had said that the standard of women¡¯s tennis could never match that of the men¡¯s game.
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