"For me: gimmick, gimmick, gimmick. I didn’t enjoy it" - Greg Rusedski heavily slams the Battle of the Sexes while questioning why it went ahead

The Battle of the Sexes clash between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios has fans divided, with some echoing their frustration about the event. Former British number one Greg Rusedski shared his disapproval of the event, questioning why the event was even held.

The match was set to be a follow-on from the prior Battle of the Sexes matchups. The most notable was when Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a hugely important win for the women's right movement and women's sport.

This was not seen in the same light as its predecessors, however, with criticism flying in about the exhibition event. Kyrgios went into it as the overwhelming favourite, and lived up to the expectation after getting the better of his opponent 6-3, 6-3.

Rusedski commented his thoughts of the matchup. "Was it worthwhile? Was it pointless? Was it a gimmick?" He confidently answered this question. "For me: gimmick, gimmick, gimmick. I didn’t enjoy it," he stated on Off Court with Greg. "I felt curiosity dictated everything. It was a little bit close in the first set, but I didn’t like the look of the courts. Then came the double faults, the underarm serves, the drop shots — and let’s not forget Nick Kyrgios is ranked 671 in the world. Did we need this? And is this good for tennis? I’m not so sure.

The discussion turned to about the levels both players put out. They felt that Kyrgios was not trying at the start before eventually upping the gears and running away with it.

"I agree. It felt like he was trying to keep it close early on" Rusedski admitted. "He broke early, then almost gave the break back. Once Sabalenka hit those three double faults, he turned it on — and from then on it didn’t feel like a match."

He was bemused by the intentions to do this from Sabalenka's point of view, highlighting the success she has enjoyed on the WTA Tour. "Sabalenka is world number one and a multiple Grand Slam champion. I just don’t think we need this."

The Brit reversed it back to the King-Riggs matchup in 1973, stating that by far overshadowed the Sabalenka-Kyrgios match. "For me, the only real Battle of the Sexes was Billie Jean King versus Bobby Riggs — that was historic," he stated. "It changed prize money and the sport forever. This didn’t do that. You’re talking about a player ranked 671 who hasn’t played properly for three years. You could see him sweating heavily. It just didn’t work."

"I’d much rather see the mixed doubles exhibitions like the US Open — that’s better value and a better advert for tennis," Rusedski suggested. "What I’d love to see instead is Sabalenka versus Rybakina, Kyrgios versus Tiafoe, and then a mixed doubles match. That’s better value."

Ahead of this contest, both Sabalenka and Kyrgios were competing in exhibition events which followed this pattern. These were completed in the USA with both the Atlanta Cup and Garden Cup entertaining the expectant crowds. Rusedski was much more of a fan of this than the Battle of the Sexes.

"The court dimensions just looked wrong. Sabalenka was standing three feet behind the baseline to serve because it felt unnatural. That might explain some of the double faults," he said. "Playing under altered conditions like that is difficult — similar to playing an injured opponent. Your rhythm changes. So overall, we probably all knew it was a gimmick. It didn’t allow Sabalenka to show her best tennis consistently. For me, it’s a thumbs down."