Who has won tennis’ ‘Battle of the Sexes’?

Jonty Colman

BBC Sport journalist

2 hours ago

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios is rumoured to be facing women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the latest ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match in tennis.

American trio Bobby Riggs, Billie-Jean King and Jimmy Connors are the three players to have won matches in the men versus women format.

Three official matches labelled as the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ have taken place, with the last in 1992.

Since then seven matches have taken place between male and female players, but not under the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ umbrella.

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Kyrgios’ comments on Sabalenka match

While nothing is officially confirmed, an exhibition match could reportedly take place between Kyrgios and Sabalenka in Hong Kong in January 2026.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka has won three Grand Slams in her career, including the Australian Open twice. She reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in July 2025.

Kyrgios is currently ranked number 651 in the men’s game and has not played since losing in the second round at the Miami Open in March this year.

The duo also share the same agent.

The 2022 Wimbledon men’s finalist said that rules had been proposed to be in favour of Sabalenka, with one service per point and smaller service boxes.

Kyrgios told fellow tennis player Alexander Bublik he was “super-excited”, but went on to say “she’s not going to beat me – do you really think I have to try 100%?”

What is the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ and how did it start?

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The first match took place in 1973 after 55-year-old Bobby Riggs claimed he could still beat any top women’s player – describing their game as “inferior”.

Riggs, who retired from professional tennis in 1951, made an offer to world number one King to play in an exhibition match – but she declined.

Instead, her Australian rival Margaret Court took up the offer in a year when she won the Australian Open and French Open.

Court took the $20,000 guaranteed payout for playing in the televised match in May 1973. Riggs won the match in straight sets 6-2 6-1 – and it was later dubbed the ‘Mother’s Day Massacre’.

Riggs was challenged by King shortly after that win and their match was promoted as the first official ‘Battle of the Sexes’.

Who else has played in one?

Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova posing with a $500,000 cheque

In September 1973, King faced Riggs in by far the most high-profile ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match.

For a winner-takes-all $100,000 prize at the Houston Astrodome in Texas, King won in straight sets 6-4 6-3 6-3.

The match and King’s victory became a major turning point for how the standard of women’s tennis was perceived.

An estimated 90 million people watched the match worldwide and the attendance of 30,472 remains the largest for a tennis match in the United States.

In 1992, Martina Navratilova, then 35, faced a 40-year-old Connors at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in a ‘Battle of Champions’.

In hybrid rules, where Navratilova was able to hit into half of the doubles alleys and Connors was only allowed one serve per point, Connors won in straight sets 7-5 6-2.

Other winners of men’s v women’s matches

A number of other tennis matches between men and women have taken place, but not under the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ label.

The first was in 1888 when Wimbledon men’s champion Ernest Remshaw played a handicap match against women’s champion Lottie Dod, with Dod starting each game 30-0 ahead. Renshaw won 2-6 7-5 7-5.

1888: Ernest Renshaw beat Lottie Dod (2-6 7-5 7-5)
1888: Lottie Dod beat Harry Grove (1-6 6-0 6-4)
1888: Lottie Dod beat William Renshaw (6-2 6-4)
May 1921: Bill Tilden beat Suzanne Lenglen (6-0)
1928: Bill Johnston beat Helen Wills
1928: Edward Chandler beat Helen Wills
1928: Helen Wills beat Elmer Griffin
1928: Helen Wills beat Phil Neer
January 1933: Helen Wills beat Phil Neer (6-3 6-4)
July 1936: Dorothy Round drew with Bunny Austin (7-5 6-8)
July 1939: Cyril Kemp beat Alice Marble (9-7 8-6)
1975: Ion Tiriac beat Abigail Maynard (6-0 6-0)
October 1975: Bjorn Borg beat Virginia Wade (6-3)
October 1975: Evonne Goolagong Cawley beat Ilie Nastase (7-5)
August 1985: Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver beat Vitas Gerulaitis and Bobby Riggs (6-3 6-2 6-4)
January 1998: Karsten Braasch beat Serena Williams (6-1)
January 1998: Karsten Braasch beat Venus Williams (6-2)
December 2003: Yannick Noah beat Justine Henin-Hardenne (4-6 6-4 7-6)
October 2013: Li Na beat Novak Djokovic (3-2)
November 2017: Johanna Konta beat Pat Cash (6-3)
July 2021: Iga Swiatek beat Hubert Hurkacz (7-4 tie-break)
December 2023: Yanis Ghazouani Durand beat Mirra Andreeva (7-5 6-2)

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