Aryna Sabalenka admits she’s ‘sad’ after winning 6-0 6-1 in 47 minutes | Tennis | Sport

Aryna Sabalenka made a statement return to competition on Tuesday, needing just 47 minutes to beat Cristina Bucsa 6-0 6-1 at the Brisbane International, where she is the defending champion. It was the world No. 1’s first official match of the season, but Sabalenka was out on the court in Dubai last week for a Battle of the Sexes showdown with former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.

Sabalenka and Kyrgios spent months building up to the woman vs man exhibition match, but it was Kyrgios who came out on top, sealing a 6-3 6-3 victory over the four-time Grand Slam champion. After bouncing back to beat Bucsa in the joint-fastest win of her career, the Belarusian explained why she was still “sad”.

The world No. 1’s decision to face Kyrgios in a match billed as the Battle of the Sexes sparked backlash. Billie Jean King, who famously beat Bobby Riggs in a Battle of the Sexes in September 1973, told the BBC that Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ iteration was “not the same”.

Many questioned whether there was a point to Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ showdown, and whether it would damage women’s tennis. WTA No. 2 Iga Swiatek said the match had “nothing to do with social change” and that the women’s game didn’t need to be compared to men’s tennis.

Sabalenka’s 6-0 6-1 victory over Bucsa was something of a statement after her defeat to Kyrgios, and the reigning champion in Brisbane later said: “I mean, guys, what I’m sad about is that some people got it wrong, the whole idea of that event. I don’t care.

“You know, I feel like there is always going to be people who don’t like you, don’t respect you, don’t support you. But there is so many people who support me who really cheer me on and who find inspiration in me, and I’m focusing on that part.”

Sabalenka has already called for a rematch against Kyrgios, where she would want some of the unique rules to be altered, but the world No. 1 is now putting the match behind her – and doubled down on her recent suggestions that the Battle of the Sexes brought more attention to tennis.

“I’m not even thinking about that exhibition. It was fun. It was a great challenge. I think we brought so many eyes on tennis. It wasn’t about proving something to anyone,” she added.

“It was about to show that tennis can be really huge and we can bring, like, a lot of attention on the exhibition match, which usually never happen, and we just proved that, that that’s all what it was about and fun.

“And there is a lot of people who supported us, and I’m just focusing on that. Going into this match, I was just playing my tennis. I was focusing on my game, on things that I was working on. That’s it.”