"This Pitiful Business-Swollen Interlude": Benoît Maylin Obliterates the Sabalenka-Kyrgios Battle of the Sexes

Presented as a historic event, the duel between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios in Dubai turned into controversy. Journalist Benoît Maylin denounces it as a "totally fake spectacle."

Arthur Millot

le 30/12/2025 à 09h39

1 min to read

Kyrgios Nick Sabalenka Aryna

It was one of the most talked-about events of the preseason.

In Dubai, in front of an audience and a host of celebrities, Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios faced off in what had been sold as a historic "Battle of the Sexes."

But behind the show and the smiles, the encounter triggered a media storm.

Benoît Maylin: "A Pitiful, Totally Fake Interlude"

For Benoît Maylin, a tennis specialist journalist, this encounter is nothing but a farce.

"Finally, it's over, we're done with this farce, this pitiful, business-swollen, indigestible, totally fake interlude, whose only performance will be the lamentable one of having tarnished sport, tennis, and the difference between the sexes," he wrote on his X account.

Dernière modification le 30/12/2025 à 09h45

Sabalenka Aryna

1e, 10490 points

Kyrgios Nick

671e, 50 points

Sabalenka A

Kyrgios N

3

6

"business-swollen"?
Professional tennis is a one venue of the sports entertainment world. It's part of the entertainment industry which primarily concerns itself with generating profit. This event was nothing more than a sideshow of the entertainment designed to bring attention to professional tennis in general ... to generate more profit.

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