Aryna Sabalenka excited for proposed Battle of the Sexes clash with Nick Kyrgios

Aryna Sabalenka is excited for a proposed Battle of the Sexes contest against Nick Kyrgios and vowed to try to “kick his ass”.

The potential clash has been a hot topic of conversation at the US Open after Kyrgios discussed it earlier this week on the Tea with Bublik podcast with fellow player Alexander Bublik.

“Sabalenka is awesome, she’s such a character,” said Kyrgios. “I think she’s the type of player who genuinely believes she’s going to win.”

If it happens, the contest will mimic one of the most famous tennis matches in history when Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in 1973.

It has been reported it will take place in Hong Kong in January, although Sabalenka insisted the date and venue has not yet been decided.

Asked if the match represents a good move for women’s tennis, Sabalenka said: “It’s going to be a good thing if I’ll be able to win but, for now, we are not sure about the place.

“But definitely, if we’re going to bring it, we’re going to bring it to somewhere where it’s going to be a lot of people watching, and we’re going to put a lot of pressure on Nick.

“I think it’s a cool idea. I think it’s going to be spectacular to watch. It’s going to be fun, especially against someone like Nick.

“Like he said in another interview, that I genuinely think that I’m going to win, and I’ll definitely go out there and I’ll try my best to kick his ass.”

There is no doubt, if they do manage to stage the match, it will generate a huge deal of interest.

Sabalenka is the world number one and about to contest another grand slam final at the US Open while Kyrgios has been sidelined for most of the last three years with injury but was a Wimbledon finalist in 2022.