Aryna Sabalenka v Nick Kyrgios: Key questions ahead of Dubai’s ‘battle of the sexes’

Cynics wonder what the true significance of this event is.

Sabalenka and Kyrgios insist it’s about attracting a diverse audience to the sport, with a focus on fun, entertainment and celebrity culture.

“There’s a question mark — that scares people,” Kyrgios said.

“For us, it’s exciting and gives us excitement. I think events like this need to happen more in the tennis world.”

The event, held at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Stadium, is expected to sell out.

Tickets cost around £100 for the upper stands and up to £600 for the pitchside benches.

Kyrgios said: “Sports and entertainment are the same thing – people watch sports for the unknown and that’s why it’s not done on paper.”

“Whether it’s good or bad, they want to remember things they see in their daily lives.”

Billie Jean King, who defeated Bobby Riggs in the second Battle of the Sexes in 1973, hoped it would be a “great” match but said it was “not the same” as her era-defining event.

King’s victory over former Wimbledon champion Riggs, a 55-year-old self-described chauvinist, was a landmark moment in the fight for gender equality and paved the way for equal pay at the top level.

“Our aim is social change; culturally speaking, where we were in 1973. But not this time,” King told BBC Sport.