Battle of the Sexes: Billie Jean King says Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios match ‘not same’ as her contest with Bobby Riggs

Some see the encounter between four-time major singles champion Sabalenka and Australia’s former world number 13 Kyrgios as harmless entertainment, but others believe it could belittle the women’s game if Sabalenka loses.

The exhibition will be the best of three sets, with a 10-point tie-breaker if it goes to a decider.

Each player will only receive one serve, while Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller after tournament organisers Evolve said data showed female players move about 9% slower on average than their male counterparts.

“I played Bobby three out of five sets, I played on a court and didn’t change anything,” recalled King.

“I said, ‘look, I play straight up or else I’m not going to play’. And Bobby loved it.”

King’s contest took place a few months after Riggs – who died in 1995 aged 77 – had soundly beaten world number one Margaret Court 6-1 6-2 in the first ‘Battle of the Sexes’ matches.

It was played in the same year King founded the Women’s Tennis Association, and three years after a group of players, dubbed The Original 9, broke away from the sport’s establishment.

It also took place at the time of Title IX legislation in the US, which prohibited sex-based discrimination in any school or education programme, and gave male and female athletic teams equal benefits, opportunities and treatment.

“Mine was really political. It was rough, culturally, what was coming in with it,” added the 82-year-old King.

“I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win.”