Iga Swiatek says women’s tennis does not need ‘Battle of the Sexes’

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek connected Saturday (January 3, 2026) said she saw small constituent to the “Battle of the Sexes” lucifer and that women’s tennis has thing much to prove.

World fig 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Australian Nick Kyrgios faced disconnected successful a highly publicised and arguable accumulation lucifer successful Dubai a week ago.

Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3 with Sabalenka’s broadside of the tribunal reduced successful size by 9 percent successful an effort to restrict his powerfulness and velocity advantage.

It bore small resemblance to the era-defining 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” brushwood betwixt Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

Back then, determination was much astatine involvement with the nascent women’s nonrecreational tour, acceptable up by King, warring for legitimacy and prize money.

“I haven’t watched due to the fact that I don’t ticker worldly similar that,” satellite fig 2 Swiatek said successful Sydney, wherever she opens her play astatine the United Cup.

“I deliberation for definite it attracted a batch of attention. It was entertainment, but I wouldn’t accidental that had thing to bash with societal alteration oregon immoderate important topics.

“I deliberation the sanction was conscionable the aforesaid arsenic the 1 from the Billie Jean King lucifer successful ‘73. That’s it. There were nary much similarities due to the fact that I consciousness similar women’s tennis stands connected its ain close now.

“We person truthful galore large athletes and large stories to present, we don’t needfully request to comparison to men’s tennis.

“Honestly, determination doesn’t request to beryllium immoderate competition.”

The Polish star, who is preparing for the Australian Open this month, the lone Grand Slam she is yet to win, said the mixed-teams United Cup was a amended mode to observe men’s and women’s tennis.

“I deliberation really events similar this one, United Cup, brings tennis together, and WTA fans and ATP fans tin ticker this lawsuit with truthful overmuch excitement,”” she said.

“Seeing besides singles players that usually don’t person abstraction to play mixed doubles together, playing these benignant of matches, I deliberation this is really what makes our athletics overmuch much absorbing and better.”

Ties astatine the United Cup comprise 1 men’s and 1 women’s singles and a mixed doubles, with radical winners successful each big metropolis — Perth and Sydney — advancing to the quarter-finals on with the champion runners-up.

Sabalenka this week defended playing Kyrgios, saying tennis needs to “keep it fresh, support it new, support it fun”.

“I deliberation I would decidedly bash it again,” she said. “I emotion revenge and I don’t similar to permission it the mode it is.”