Billie Jean King says, ‘Battle of Sexes’ between Sabalenka and Kyrgios has no historic value!
Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will meet in the ‘Battle of Sexes’ on Sunday in an exhibition match that reminds the tennis fraternity of the first historic ‘Battle of Sexes’ between legendary Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in September 1973. Women’s world number one Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, takes on injury-prone Australian Kyrgios in a highly publicised showdown that has not only divided tennis fans, but also raised questions over tagging the name of the exhibition match, as King herself feels this Battle of Sexes does not have any historic value. Rather, it is going to be only a high-publicity event. Although Aryna Sabalenka says the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios will continue to help women’s tennis, the 82-year-old Billie Jean King, while speaking to BBC, stated, “It is not the same. I showed that women are strong.” In 70s, when King and Riggs participated in the ‘Battle of Sexes’, the women’s professional tours were budding, fighting for their legitimacy and prize money for the female players, which was far lower than that for the men. King pioneered the battle for female tennis players, and her relentless effort off the court paid off as women nowadays are receiving equal prize money at each of the four Grand Slams. King added, “Ours was about social change. But this one is not. Mine was really political. It was rough, culturally, what was coming in with it. I knew I had to beat him for social change. I had a lot of reasons to win.” King, one of the all-time greats of the women’s game who was at the peak of her powers, trounced the 55-year-old Riggs, a top player in his day, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3 in Houston.
