“What did the legendary tennis player say about the “Battle of the Sexes” between Sobolenko and Kyrgios?”, — write: sport.ua
The American King beat self-proclaimed chauvinist Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Houston in September 1973 in a winner-takes-all match with a prize fund of $100,000.
An estimated 90 million people around the world watched the 29-year-old King win a bo5 match against the 55-year-old former Wimbledon and US Open singles champion. This match is considered an important part of the movement for women’s rights and the fight for equality in sports.
The first racket of the world, 27-year-old Sobolenko, will meet with the finalist of Wimbledon-2022, 30-year-old Kyrgios in Dubai on December 28. The match was also called the Battle of the Sexes.
When asked if she sees similarities between the matches, King said:
“The only similarity is that one is a man and the other is a woman. And that’s all. Everything else is not. Our match was about social changes, about the cultural context of 1973. This one is not about that. I hope it’s a great match – and of course I want Sobolenko to win – but it’s just not the same.”
Some see the meeting between four-time Grand Slam singles winner Sobolenko and former world No. 13 Kyrgios as harmless entertainment, but others believe that Sobolenko’s defeat could demean women’s tennis.
The exhibition match will be played to the best of two sets, and if necessary (1-1 in games) a tie-break of up to 10 points will be assigned.
Each player will serve only once, and Sobolenko’s side of the court will be 9% smaller. Organizers of the tournament, Evolve, said that on average, women move around the court about 9% slower than men, which is why the decision was made to shorten part of the Arena court.
“I played three sets of bo5 with Bobby, playing on a normal court and not changing anything,” King recalls. — I said: “Either I play on equal terms, or I won’t play at all.” And Bobby loved it.”
The King match came months after Riggs – who died in 1995 aged 77 – convincingly beat world number one Margaret Court 6-1, 6-2 in the first match of the Battle of the Sexes series.
The match came in the same year that King founded the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and three years after a group of players known as the “Original Nine” broke away from the tennis establishment.
The match also took place during the passage of Title IX in the United States, which prohibited discrimination based on gender in any school or educational program and guaranteed men’s and women’s sports teams equal conditions, opportunities and support.
“My match was really political. It was a very difficult time from a cultural point of view, – added the 82-year-old King. – I knew that I had to defeat him for the sake of social change. I had many reasons to win.”
