Contentious Battle of the Sexes fiasco needs to be replaced by ‘genius’ Australian Open innovation
The negative reaction to last month’s Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios continues to rumble on, but it should now be replaced with a new format of the game that involves male and female players competing against each other.
After the storming success of last year’s star-studded Mixed Doubles event at the US Open, as some of the sport’s leading players competed in a revamped tournament that was declared a big success, Australian Open chiefs opted against following that lead.
Instead they introduced an event they called the 1-Point Slam, as the game’s top ranked men’s and women’s players took part in an event that also included amateur players.
It was hard to envisage an event that featured just one point per match, but it proved to be a sensational triumph in front of a packed crowd on Rod Laver Arena.
The innovative competition, with all matches lasting only one point, featured a star-studded field remarkably, it was Sydney amateur Jordan Smith who ended up collecting £1m AUD, which translates to around £498,000.
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In the final, Smith defeated British-born Taiwanese player Joanna Garland, who had played fearlessly to beat Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Maria Sakkari and Donna Vekic only to miss her big opportunity.
Smith beat Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner on his way to a glorious victory, with Australian Open organisers deserving all the credit for coming up with a competition that captured the imagination of tennis fans around the world.
This was a stroke of ‘genius’ from tennis chefs in Melbourne and they may just have come up with a format that will add to tennis for years to come
After the farce that was Sabalenka vs Kygrios on a modified court in Dubai, this felt like a format where the best men and women players could compete in an event that was the ultimate leveller, as Smith proved by lifting the title.
The success of the event suggests we will see a lot more of this format of tennis from this point forward, with Sabalenka a notable absentee after she opted against playing in Melbourne.
The world No 1 women’s player is still getting criticism for her decision to take the money on offer and play Kyrgios, with her straight sets defeat against a player who has barely played competitive tennis for three years and was not fully fit a blow to women’s tennis, according to former world No 7 Barbara Schett.
“I’m not sure if she (Sabalenka) necessarily needs that money for an exhibition,” began Schett, in an exclusive interview with Tennis365.
“I’ve been spending the last 30 years telling everyone that men’s tennis and women’s tennis are different. A woman cannot beat a guy because of the physicality. It’s just not possible.
“They always complain, why do we get the same amount of prize money. I always tell them we are working hard as well. We might not be playing best of five (sets), but everything we put into tennis and everything we do in training is exactly the same.
“Then we see the reaction and they say he (Kyrgios) didn’t even play at 100 per-cent and she has no chance. Women’s tennis is then crucified. Especially men look at women’s tennis and say this is ridiculous.
“You can’t compare the male and female body. That’s what it is. If you watch it for the entertainment and you know whats’ going to happen and that she doesn’t have a chance, that’s fine. But don’t be surprised and say it’s ridiculous how weak and bad are women. You just can’t compare it.
“I haven’t watched it. I didn’t want to watch it. I knew what was going to happen. I knew that Nick didn’t even have to play at 100 per-cent to beat her pretty easy. I have no interest in watching anything like that. It hurts me, actually.”
