Greg Rusedski believes women’s tennis could be faced with an issue in the near future.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated men’s tennis for the past two years, leaving some fans calling the ATP Tour too predictable.
This was only heightened when former top 10 WTA player Daria Kasatkina made a claim about women’s tennis compared to men’s.
Despite these claims, Rusedski has suggested that men’s tennis currently has something over the women’s game.
Greg Rusedski claims women’s tennis is missing something right now
Rusedski has been outspoken about the Battle of the Sexes match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios, something he has spoken about again on the Off Court with Greg podcast.
What will the impact on women’s tennis be if Nick Kyrgios wins easily?
In this podcast, Rusedski spoke about Martina Navratilova’s famous rivalry with Chris Evert, and claimed that is what women’s tennis is missing right now, whereas the ATP Tour has Alcaraz and Sinner.
“I believe this to be true. Somebody told me Martina Navratilova years ago, when she was world number one, got offered $1 million to do that [take on a man] and she decided against that,” revealed Rusedski. She decided that it wasn’t for the good of the game. This is the tricky thing, we are all talking about it, so it is bringing eyeballs to it. So as a tennis purist, I’m not sure it’s the best thing.
“If we had a rivalry, that’s the problem. If 2026 starts with a rivalry, [Elena] Rybakina is back in the mix now, Madison Keys won her first major this year. Coco Gauff won the French. [Aryna] Sabalenka won the US Open.
“If they are playing week in and week out on the Tour, that’s enough for the game, but they are not fortunate to have that rivalry yet. Chrissy and Martina played 80 times, that is the biggest rivalry in tennis, that is what they need.
“If we turn on the TV, in the men’s we know the rivalry is Alcaraz vs Sinner. In the women’s it can be anybody at the moment and we need that sort of match up in the future. I am hoping that this does not create damage.”
Should women play best-of-five sets at Grand Slams?
How many times has Aryna Sabalenka played Iga Swiatek?
The top two ranked players on the WTA Tour right now are Sabalenka and Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka and Swiatek have played each other 13 times in their careers so far, with the latter leading the head-to-head 8-5, but they have only played once in 2025.
This came in the semifinals of the French Open, but Sabalenka and Swiatek are still yet to meet in a Grand Slam final.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2021 | WTA Finals (RR) | Sabalenka beat Swiatek, 2-6 6-2 7-5 |
| 2022 | Qatar Open (QF) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-2 6-3 |
| 2022 | Stuttgart Open (F) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-2 6-2 |
| 2022 | Italian Open (SF) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-2 6-1 |
| 2022 | US Open (SF) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 3-6 6-1 6-4 |
| 2022 | WTA Finals (SF) | Sabalenka beat Swiatek, 6-2 2-6 6-1 |
| 2023 | Stuttgart Open (F) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-3 6-4 |
| 2023 | Madrid Open (F) | Sabalenka beat Swiatek, 6-3 3-6 6-3 |
| 2023 | WTA Finals (SF) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-3 6-2 |
| 2024 | Madrid Open (F) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 7-5 4-6 7-6(7) |
| 2024 | Italian Open (F) | Swiatek beat Sabalenka, 6-2 6-3 |
| 2024 | Cincinnati Open (SF) | Sabalenka beat Swiatek, 6-3 6-3 |
| 2025 | French Open (SF) | Sabalenka beat Swiatek, 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 |
Rusedski may have a point about a rivalry being needed, with only Sabalenka and Coco Gauff playing each other in a Grand Slam final more than once since 2020.
Sabalenka and Swiatek may be the rivalry the WTA Tour needs, as they won the Match of the Year for their thrilling Madrid Open final in 2024.
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