- The “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition tennis match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios takes place on Sunday in Dubai.
- Tennis betting sites heavily favor Kyrgios, while the odds for Sabalenka to win the Battle of the Sexes are long.
DUBAI – Sportsbooks aren’t shying away from making Nick Kyrgios the favorite against Aryna Sabalenka, who is -400 at his cheapest odds. Some legal tennis betting sites have him at -600, proving yet again, it’s all about where you bet.
Odds On Battle of the Sexes
| Player |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aryna Sabalenka | +275 | +365 | +350 |
| Nick Kyrgios | -400 | -550 | -600 |
- Local gaming regulations prohibit many exhibition events with modified rules. You may not find these bets available in states with legal sports betting on apps like BetMGM, DraftKings, or FanDuel.
The match will be a best of three sets with a 10-point tiebreaker in the third if needed.
Though this is a normal setup for women’s tennis, many are scrutinizing one of the other rules of the event: the court size. Sabalenka’s side of the court is to be 9% smaller due to research from Evole that female tennis players move nine percent slower than their male counterparts.
Outside of that, players are only given a single service, meaning there won’t be any second serves at play.
Quotes From The Tennis Community
Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski didn’t appreciate the event’s setup, saying:
“For it to be a real Battle of the Sexes, the court dimensions have to be the same and it has to be tennis… and my opinion is I find it gimmicky.”
World No. 12 Casper Ruud had a similar mindset:
“If you really want to do it, you should have fair playing grounds,” Ruud said. “If it’s not the same court on both sides and two serves, it’s not the real deal.”
Maybe the worst view of it comes from Billie Jean King, who was part of the historic 1973 Battle of the Sexes.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it. Everything else, no,” King told BBC Sport. “Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. This one is not.”
Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs was even more blunt.
“The only reason they are putting this on is because their management company has gone, ‘we’re going to make a bit of money here. But what is in this for women’s tennis?”
Sabalenka and Kyrgios Making Headlines
Despite the lack of support from the tennis community, both players have taken centerstage in listing their predictions with a little bit of trash talk.
“I’ll try my best to kick his ass,” Sabalenka said at a September 2025 press conference. She later doubled down on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, declaring, “I’m going to kick his ass.”
Kyrgios fired back with even more confidence.
“She’s not going to beat me,” he said. “Do you really think I have to try 100 per cent? I’m gonna try. Because I’m representing the men’s side. I’d say like 6-2 maybe… I mean, our serves, women can’t really return those. And then we can just chip and drop shot… I don’t want her to win. That’s for sure.”
Handicapping The Odds
While Sabalenka is a large underdog by legal sports betting sites, the serving aspect will be key. Sabalenka has immense power, having recorded the second-fastest serve by a woman (133 mph back in 2018). But, her past also came with many double faults – something she’s worked on in the last two years after leading the WTA.
As for Kyrgios, he ranks eighth all-time in career aces on the men’s tour. Still, his return game may be the larger focus. Given Kyrgios’ long layoff, he is set to return to the ATP Tour with a wildcard at the Brisbane International. But, injuries and fitness issues have dropped his ranking to No. 673 in the world.
Whether this event is seen as entertainment betting or as a true tennis matchup doesn’t matter. Odds are available and Kyrgios has seen heavy support as the favorite. Sabalenka’s plus-money odds are appealing, but bettors must find the best value (+350 at BetUS) in order to maximize EV.
