Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios asked about transgender women competing in tennis
The Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios roadshow continued ahead of their controversial Battle of the Sexes clash with the pair appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored as they discussed a wide-ranging list of topics.
WTA world No 1 Sabalenka will take on former ATP world No 13 on December 28 in Dubai in what they hope will be similar to the original Battle of the Sexes match between Billie Jean King’s and Bobby Riggs back in 1973.
But while that famous encounter five decades ago paved the way for equal pay for women in Grand Slam matches, the 2025 edition has come in for criticism from many corners, and only recently, broadcaster Katherine Whittaker stated “it feels like a dog whistle publicity stunt” as she added that Kyrgios “is choosing to stand for and represent misogyny”.
Of course, in order to get people talking about their “show”, the two players involved in the match have signed up for various interviews and they got some more airtime on the Piers Morgan show.
And Morgan was always going to bring up controversial topics as he asked Sabalenka about transgender women competing in women’s tennis.
“I have nothing against them, but I feel like they still have a huge advantage over women,” the four-time Grand Slam winner said. “I think it’s just not fair to women to basically face biological men. It’s not fair.
“The women work their whole life to reach her limit, and then she has to face a man, which is biologically much stronger. So. for me, I don’t agree with this kind of stuff in sport.”
When asked for his thoughts on the subject, Kyrgios stated: “I feel the exact same way.”
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As for the match itself, many – including Sabalenka – believe it is a lose-lose situation for Kyrgios as he is expected to win despite his inactivity on the ATP Tour in recent years.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, was the best player on the WTA Tour this year as she won the US Open and finished runner-up at the Australian Open, French Open and WTA Finals.
Kyrgios was full of praise for his opponent.
“I’ve had some pretty low moments in my career but the thing is, I know Aryna and I know that she really has confidence in her ability, whether she’s playing me or whether she’s playing Coco Gauff or anyone, you know, I feel like I’m very aware that she’s a dangerous tennis player.
“I’m going to go out there and I’m going to give it everything. You know, I’m going to go out there and be very wary of her weapons, what she’s able to do. And look, at the end of the day, I’ve had tough losses, but as you said, if I go down, this one might be the one that hangs the rackets up for good.
Sabalenka responded: “I like to hear how stressed he is, but at the same time, I don’t want to be that person who’s going to help him to retire.”
There has been a change to the rules as Sabalenka’s side of the court will be smaller and both players will have only one serve.
But what about competing against men under normal playing conditions?
Sabalenka said: “I think if we play like full court, full rules, yeah, it will be really tough for me to compete against guys. Physically, they are much stronger, speed, the power of the balls, everything is much stronger.
“So it’s tough to compete but in these conditions I feel like we’re having right now here like 9% smaller court, I feel like okay, maybe at least I have a bit of a higher chance to compete and to see like if I can win in these conditions.”
