Kyrgios said he would retire if he loses to Sabalenka, and fans worry for "Coco": tough to win under gender battle rules

If we talk about the most enticing exhibition match appetizer before the new season starts, it has to be the upcoming gender battle between Sabalenka and Kyrgios. Even before it begins, various topics have already filled the conversation around this match.

Sabalenka is a fierce woman in tennis and currently the world No.1 in women's singles, while Kyrgios is ranked 652nd. The huge ranking gap and their differing current levels make supporters of the Belarusian player believe it will be difficult for the Aussie bad boy to win.

“Playing against someone like Nick, I truly believe I will win,” Sabalenka boldly stated when discussing the gender battle with Kyrgios, instantly raising expectations from the public.

People want to know if the Belarusian can really beat Kyrgios. Besides the gender difference, there has been talk that due to physiological differences between men and women, even a top ten female player would struggle to defeat a male player ranked within the top 1000, highlighting the real gender gap.

Now, with Sabalenka so confident in herself and being a well-known powerhouse in tennis, naturally everyone wants to see if she can really teach a lesson to Kyrgios, who is ranked outside the top 600.

Compared to Sabalenka's strong confidence, Kyrgios expressed even greater certainty when talking about facing the Belarusian, saying, “I don’t even need to give my all to win.”

“Women actually find it hard to return my serve,” Kyrgios’s confidence in beating Sabalenka mainly comes from his serve, which is why he dared to say that.

However, some criticized the Aussie bad boy for being arrogant. The reason is Sabalenka’s serve is also very powerful, “her serve speed consistently exceeds 190 km/h.”

To convince the public he is not bluffing and truly believes he can beat the current women’s world No.1 Sabalenka, Kyrgios even verbally agreed to a bet with the public: “If I lose to Sabalenka, I will retire immediately.”

No one knows for sure if Kyrgios can 100% defeat Sabalenka, but some of his supporters say, “If Coco doesn’t mess around and takes this gender battle seriously and gives her full effort, the Aussie bad boy might really struggle to win.”

To prove their support for Kyrgios is genuine, some fans quickly presented UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) data.

According to current UTR data for Kyrgios and Sabalenka, the Aussie bad boy is rated 15+, while the Belarusian girl is 12+. This three-point difference makes it seem to everyone that “Coco beating the Aussie bad boy looks like a sure thing.”

Logically, Kyrgios’s strength, the physiological gender gap, and the UTR ratings suggest there’s little dispute about the outcome of this gender battle. Yet many fans and netizens poured cold water on the Aussie and his supporters, saying that even though Sabalenka dominates women’s hard courts, it’s not guaranteed she can beat Kyrgios. It depends on the rules of this gender battle. “Looks like Coco might really be forced into retirement by her own words because the rules are tough.”

Some people are now worried about Kyrgios’s statement that he will retire if he loses because the gender battle has two special rules that favor Sabalenka and act like a constraint on Kyrgios.

These two rules are: first, Kyrgios only has one serve attempt, meaning if he faults on the first serve, he loses the point, which limits the power of his aggressive serve; second, Kyrgios can only play singles baseline shots, while Sabalenka can play doubles lines, greatly restricting Kyrgios’s attacking range and expanding Sabalenka’s, making it harder for Kyrgios to win.

These two special rules clearly benefit Sabalenka in winning this gender battle.

However, some fans joked that even if Coco loses, she can blame unfair rules and “play the system,” so the retirement talk can be easily dismissed. No one will strictly demand Kyrgios to keep his promise, “After all, tennis without Coco is like life missing a key spice — it would be so dull!”

The gender battle between Sabalenka and Kyrgios will begin on December 28 and is definitely worth watching!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit Starry Sky)