The gender battle between Sabalenka and Kyrgios kicks off today! What unusual rules does the match have?

Women's world No.1 Sabalenka is set to compete against Australian star Kyrgios in Dubai on Sunday in a widely watched exhibition called the "Gender Battle 2.0." During the US Open in September, Nick Kyrgios, whose highest ranking was No.13, boldly claimed in an interview that he didn’t even need to be at "100% form" to easily defeat Sabalenka, asserting that female players simply cannot handle ATP-level serves.

In the end, Sabalenka did not shy away from the challenge. The four-time Grand Slam champion responded strongly, saying she was ready to "give him a good fight," quickly escalating the trash talk into real action. Soon after, both players’ management and marketing company, Evolve, stepped in to officially arrange the showdown.

The match will take place on December 28 in Dubai at the Coca-Cola Arena, which seats 17,000. Although Sabalenka is one of the most successful players in tennis today, Kyrgios has dropped to No.671 in the world rankings after a long injury break and has not played an official match since March. Nevertheless, this remains a must-watch event, with the match scheduled to start at 8 PM local Dubai time.

This duel is comparable to the iconic 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs—a contest that forever changed tennis and the status of women’s tennis. Now, with the stage set, attention turns to the unique rules of this match.

For those who might have missed the news, this exhibition match features some unusual rules. According to BBC Sport, the match will be best of three sets, with a 10-point tiebreak deciding the winner if needed. The biggest change is in the serving rule: only one serve per point is allowed. This rule emphasizes accuracy over raw power and aims to reduce Kyrgios’s natural advantage in strength.

Interestingly, it was Kyrgios—currently sidelined by injury and ranked 671st—who insisted that the "one serve" rule apply equally to both players. Originally, Sabalenka was allowed two serves. But that’s not all; the court dimensions for each player will also differ in this match. So, what exactly are the differences?

The event organizer Evolve, which also manages both players, has confirmed that the court area defended by Sabalenka will be 9% smaller than the standard size. But why reduce Sabalenka’s court size?

For those unfamiliar, this decision comes directly from the official match announcement. Evolve explained in their press release that the 9% reduction is meant to "reflect the average difference in movement speed between men and women," aiming to balance physical condition disparities in the match.

From a pure serving perspective, Kyrgios still holds a clear edge. The 30-year-old Australian ranks eighth on the ATP Tour’s all-time ace leaderboard, highlighting his serving threat. However, Sabalenka’s power should not be underestimated—she hit a 133 mph serve at the 2018 WTA Elite Trophy, marking the second-fastest serve in women’s tennis history.

Despite these adjustments, one thing is certain: this match is purely for entertainment. It will not award any ranking points as neither the ATP nor WTA officially sanction it. Details about appearance fees or prize money have yet to be disclosed.

What is the "one serve" rule? How will it change the match? In regular tennis, players are allowed two serves per point; if the first serve faults, they get a second, safer serve as a backup.

But in this exhibition, each player only has one serve per point. If they fault, there is no second chance. This greatly increases the pressure on every service game, raises the risk of double faults, and forces players to balance power and precision instead of going all out on their first serve as usual.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Spark)