Aryna Sabalenka is gearing up for a battle unlike any other. It’s the much-anticipated modern version of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ against Nick Kyrgios. The fiery Belarusian, known for her power-packed baseline play, is ready to carry the torch of women’s tennis into this thrilling showdown. But alongside making sure that her racket will do most of the talking, she appears to be planning to pull off some mind games of her own to ensure the victory.

The match between Kyrgios and Sabalenka is scheduled to unfold at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on December 28. And this time, Sabalenka is looking forward to messing with Kyrgios’s head while aiming for the victory. How? By bringing in Kyrgios’ best friend, Novak Djokovic, into the scene.

Sabalenka is eyeing Djokovic to be her coach for the match. Fans are already aware of the fact that recently, the Belarusian has formed a strong bond with Djokovic. They have even gone on double dates with their respective partners. And now she is looking to get some assistance from him to make sure that Kyrgios is out under some extra pressure. More so because Novak and Kyrgios, too, share a very strong bond of friendship. 

The concept of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ has long been a part of tennis folklore. It all began with the win of Billie Jean King against Bobby Riggs back in 1973 after Riggs had defeated Margaret Court that same year. Years later, in 1992, Jimmy Connors bested Martina Navratilova.

While the match was announced, Sabalenka was aware of the responsibility that had been vested in her. Taking matters on a serious note, Sabalenka stated, “I totally understand the responsibility of this match that I, in a way, put on my shoulders. And that’s why I’ll go out there, and there’s no jokes. I’ll play full. And hopefully, I can just keep up with Billie Jean and probably help women’s tennis to get better conditions.”

But Sabalenka wants to make sure that she is in a ‘win-win’ situation against Nick while they face off for the modern-day version of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’. Sabalenka told The National, “I just want to play my best tennis and put him in a very uncomfortable situation, because for him it’s lose-lose, you know?”. Further explaining her thoughts, she added, “If you win against the girl, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, congrats, well done’. If you lose against the girl, then it’s, you know, ‘Come on, Nick!’” 

More so, she added how she knows that even if she loses the match against Kyrgios, that won’t turn out to be the talk of the town. Because she believes, “If I lose, I mean, I just hope that I’m not going to lose 6-0. And if I lose, that it’s a tight battle, and I just want to force him to go crazy on court.” She boldly added, “And for me, it’s win-win. If I win, that’s like, okay, we have something to talk about.” But as it appears, Novak, while not being at the match, would indeed have a lot to handle if he is to help Sabalenka for the match against his favourite Aussie star.

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios’ unlikely friendship continues while Sabalenka challenges the Aussie

Back in 2022, it all began with a rivalry in the Wimbledon final. The Australian was even critical of Djokovic’s on-court behaviour. But soon after the pandemic, that rivalry took a sweet turn towards a strong “bromance”. During the pandemic, it was Kyrgios who took a stand for Novak while he was being hated for his stance on vaccination.

Recently, Djokovic shared how Kyrgios keeps sending him videos from his parties. Novak boldly stated, “Nick, unfortunately, never had the discipline that was needed. If he had 30 percent of the discipline required—and he has about five percent—he’d be Top 10 easily”.

Explaining his take, he reflected on a hilarious note, “He sent me a video once. He loves sending me clips from nightclubs, bars—I didn’t even reply to the last one! He always says: ‘Why do I keep running into Serbs everywhere in the world?'” Novak continued explaining what Nick does and added, “He’ll go to a party, bump into one of ours, they’ll say: ‘Nick, you Serb!’ Then they hug, drink, and he sends me the videos.”

Recently, looking forward to defeating the Aussie star, Aryna Sabalenka said, “I really hope to bring him into my box and be my coach just to put extra pressure on Nick. I already told Nick, like, ‘Nick, you know what, Novak is really helping me, with the tactics and everything’.” Now that matters are becoming so competitive from Sabalenka’s end, fans would wait to know how Kyrgios is looking forward to the match and how it finally turns out during the Christmas season.