VIDEO SHOWS: FILE FOOTAGE OF TENNIS PLAYERS NICK KYRGIOS AND ARYNA SABALENKA, ARCHIVE FOOTAGE OF THE INAUGURAL 'BATTLE OF THE SEXES' BETWEEN BOBBY RIGGS AND BILLIE JEAN KING, AND FILE FOOTAGE FROM 'BATTLE OF THE SEXES' FILM PREMIERE SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 30, 2023) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. NICK KYRGIOS WALKING OUTTO PRACTICE 2. KYRGIOS PRACTICING AT WIMBLEDON LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 27, 2025) (REUTERS – No monetisation) 3. VARIOUS OF ARYNA SABALENKA PRACTISING ON WIMBLEDON CENTRE COURT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 11, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 4. VARIOUS OF KYRGIOS HITTING BALLS IN TRAINING IN MELBOURNE MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 10, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 5. VARIOUS SABALENKA TRAINING IN MELBOURNE NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 11, 1973) (NBC – Broadcast: No use USA. No use CNN. No use VOA. Digital: No use digital.) 6. FORMER TENNIS PLAYERS BILLIE JEAN KING (LEFT) AND BILLY RIGGS BEING INTERVIEWED (NOT A SOUNDBITE) 7. KING AND RIGGS PRACTISING HOUSTON, TEXAS, US (SEPTEMBER 20, 1973) (BERNER- Access all) 8. SIGN OUTSIDE HOUSTON ASTRODROME AHEAD OF THE 'BATTLE OF THE SEXES' MATCH 9. RIGG HITTING A FOREHAND LONG DURING MATCH 10. KING BACKHAND HITTING NET DURING MATCH 11. CROWD APPLAUDING 12. KING LOBBING A BACKHAND LONG DURING MATCH 13. CROWD WATCHING ON 14. WINNING MOMENT IN ORIGINAL 'BATTLE OF THE SEXES MATCH' / KING CELEBRATING AND RIGGS HURDLING NET TO CONGRATULATE OPPONENT 15. SCOREBOARD SHOWING KING'S STRAIGHT SETS VICTORY 16. KING'S FACE AND NAME IS SHOWN INSIDE THE STADIUM AFTER THE MATCH TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (SEPTEMBER 10, 2017) (REUTERS – ACCESS ALL) 17. VARIOUS OF ACTORS EMMA STONE AND STEVE CARELL AND FORMER TENNIS PLAYER BILLIE JEAN KING POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ON GREEN CARPET 18. VARIOUS OF KING POSING FOR PHOTOS STORY: Women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka will take on Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios in a 'Battle of the Sexes' exhibition match in Dubai on December 28, organisers announced on Tuesday (November 4). Sabalenka will face Kyrgios in a modern rendition of tennis icon Billie Jean King's 1973 showdown with fellow American Bobby Riggs, which turned out to be a watershed moment for both tennis and the women's movement. Played in Houston's Astrodome, some 90 million tuned in worldwide to watch King storm to a straight sets victory which propelled the fight for equality in sports. Aged 55 at the time, Riggs had beaten Australia's Margaret Court four months earlier before King, aged 29, exacted revenge. In 1992, eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors, then aged 40, beat 18-time major winner Martina Navratilova, then 35, under modified rules. King's straight sets triumph inspired the 2017 film 'Battle of the Sexes', starring Emma Stone as King, and Steve Carrell as Riggs. Current World number one Sabalenka won two Grand Slams in 2025, whilst Australian Kygrios' rank has fallen to 652, having last played in March, and winning just one of his five matches this season. (Production: Joseph Andrews)
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