Aryna Sabalenka Promises to ‘Represent’ in Battle of the Sexes Against Nick Kyrgios (Exclusive)

Aryna Sabalenka is not concerned about her upcoming “Battle of the Sexes” match against Nick Kyrgios.

The World No. 1 women’s tennis player, 27, fresh off her victory over Amanda Anisimova at the 2025 US Open, will play against Kyrgios, 30, in a modern-day version of Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs’s 1973 “Battle of the Sexes.” Although the match’s date, location and rules have yet to be finalized, Sabalenka tells PEOPLE she’s committed to giving her all.

“I’m going to bring my best tennis, my best fight spirit, and I’m going to represent women’s sport in the best way possible,” the four-time Grand Slam champion says. “I’m not sure if Nick can represent men’s sport in the best way possible. So we’ll see how it goes.”

She jokes, “I’ll make sure he has some drinks before we play.”

On whether she’s worried that a loss might provoke people who want to discredit women’s tennis, Sabalenka says simply, “No, I’m not concerned about that.”

The athlete continues, “I think if people are going to use it against us fighting for women’s sport, it’s not going to be really smart to do. That’s what I feel like.”

During a Sept. 4 press conference after her semifinal win at the US Open, she called the upcoming face-off “a cool idea” and said she believed it would be “spectacular to watch.” She also promised to try her best to “kick his a–.”

Asked if she felt a “Battle of the Sexes” match would be “good for women’s tennis,” she answered, “It’s gonna be a good thing if I’ll be able to win.”

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Previously, Kazakh tennis player Alexander Bublik questioned Kyrgios about the exhibition match for his Tea with Bublik podcast. 

The Australian tennis star praised Sabalenka as an “awesome” person, becoming acquainted with her through their shared athlete representation agency, Naomi Osaka’s Evolve. He also characterized her as “one of those players who genuinely thinks she is going to win.”

Still, he remained confident that he would prevail: “She’s not gonna beat me. Do you really think I have to try at 100 percent?”

Kyrgios added that as a representative of men’s tennis, he would take the match seriously and detailed his plans to “chip and drop shot” to a win.