Overview
- Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets, with both players limited to a single serve under special exhibition rules.
- The court on Sabalenka’s side was reduced by about 9%, a tweak that left the sporting significance of the result difficult to interpret.
- Sabalenka and Kyrgios presented the event as a show to attract viewers rather than a reprise of the 1973 Billie Jean King–Bobby Riggs contest.
- Alizé Cornet condemned the reduced-court rule as harmful to the image of the women’s game, while Rennae Stubbs questioned commercial motives linked to the players’ agency, Evolve.
- About 17,000 spectators attended in Dubai, with celebrity guests including Brazilian football legend Ronaldo.