Aryna Sabalenka has made an emphatic start to her 2026 season, but she is not entirely happy right now.
Sabalenka had already won a doubles match with Paula Badosa, but she has now also played her first singles match of the 2026 season.
While the world number one winning is not a rare sight, it was the first singles match for Sabalenka since she lost to Nick Kyrgios in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match in Dubai.
The match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios was highly criticised, and the former has now admitted that she feels a bit sad about the exhibition.
Aryna Sabalenka says what people have got wrong about the Battle of the Sexes match
Sabalenka made a dominant start to her 2026 season and defence of the Brisbane International title, beating Cristina Bucsa in just 47 minutes in her first round match.
After beating Bucsa in a fairly non-eventful match, Sabalenka headed to her post-match press conference where she was asked if her victory was a statement following the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match criticism.
Sabalenka dismissed this claim before admitting that she actually felt ‘sad’ about the way the event had been perceived.
“I mean, guys, what I’m sad about is that some people got it wrong, the whole idea of that event,” said Sabalenka. “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.
“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. 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.”
What was your opinion on the Battle of the Sexes match?
Aryna Sabalenka reveals what she has heard about Nick Kyrgios ahead of the Australian Open
While Sabalenka is attempting to remove herself from talk about the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match, she is playing at the same tournament in Brisbane as Kyrgios.
Kyrgios won his first doubles match in Brisbane, and Sabalenka was asked what she expects from the Australian ahead of his singles comeback.
Despite losing to him in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match, Sabalenka admitted that she wanted Kyrgios to be winning on the ATP Tour again, and revealed that she had heard the former Wimbledon finalist had been working ‘really hard’.
“Realistically, I will be super happy to see him winning, because what I heard from his team, not him, but from his team, that he was working really hard,” said Sabalenka. “That exhibition match was a great push for him to actually start working and doing things.
“If he’s going to go out there and be Nick that he was before injury, I’ll be happy for him.”
How many Grand Slam titles do you think Aryna Sabalenka will win in 2026?
Sabalenka’s wish did not come true, as shortly after this press conference Kyrgios was beaten in straight sets by American Aleksandar Kovacevic.
It is still up in the air as to whether Kyrgios will receive an Australian Open wildcard, with under two weeks until the first Grand Slam of 2026 gets underway.
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