Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will play former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in a “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match in Dubai on Dec. 28. After Sabalenka confirmed during the US Open that discussions for the match were underway, both players on Tuesday posted logistical details on their social media channels. They will play indoors at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena.
Kyrgios said this year he would get only one serve and would be hitting toward a smaller side of the court. The Australian, who has barely played in recent years because of injuries, has predicted he will win easily. Both players will also feature in an exhibition in New York on December 8 but not against each other: Sabalenka will play Naomi Osaka and Kyrgios will face Tommy Paul.
“I cannot wait to get back out on court,” Kyrgios said in an Instagram story. “Honestly I’m feeling amazing. I never thought I would be back into this position, being able to travel the world, see my fans and play some amazing tennis.” The name of the Sabalenka-Kyrgios exhibition was borrowed from the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs — which King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome.
In T20 cricket, experts give more importance to strike rates and ability to hit sixes than batting averages. When Babar was first dropped from the T20 side reasons given were his inability to have a higher strike rate and hit boundaries and sixes in demanding situations. Gemma Dryburgh’s first and only LPGA Tour victory came three years ago in Japan. On Thursday the 32-year-old Scottish player shot a 7-under 65 at the Maybank Classic to put herself in position for a second victory in Asia.
Dryburgh’s seventh birdie of the day on the 18th hole at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club left her a stroke out of the first-round lead held by Hye-Jin Choi. Choi’s 64 included an eagle at the par-five 3rd hole and a birdie on the 18th. Dryburgh was tied for second with Benedetta Moresco of Italy. “It was a very stress-free round,” Dryburgh said.
The humid and hot weather was much different from her native Scotland, but her hometown in the United States — New Orleans, where she attended Tulane University — helped prepare her for the conditions. “Yes, it was very different from Scotland, but living where I do now helped me on a day like today,” Dryburgh said. “I like how the greens are kind of similar to where I play in New Orleans, grainy. So it kind of suits my eye.”
Among the seven players tied for fourth with 66s, two strokes behind Choi, were Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Ingrid Lindblad, Arpichaya Yubol and Somi Lee. Choi said she made some good recovery shots Thursday which helped to take the first-round lead. “I had a lot of situations which I could make bogeys because of rough and hazard, but I made a lot of good pars,” Choi said.
Defending champion Yin Ruoning shot 68, as did world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul. Thitikul, the only multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this year after winning the Mizuho Americas Open in May and again in Shanghai nearly three weeks ago, has finished runner-up the last two times she has played in Malaysia.
“I think it just kinds of feel like comfortable to play here,” she said ahead of the first round. “The course, the weather, and also the fans seem like second home to me. I feel like it seems like a mini-Thailand.” Last week Australia won the International Crown team event in South Korea. Next week, the LPGA ends its five-week Asian swing with the Japan Classic at Shiga, site of Dryburgh’s win in 2022.
