‘Battle of the Sexes’ tennis match draws terse response from ex-NFL kicker

Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who is running for Congress in Arizona, was among those who weighed in on the panned “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka.

The match featured Sabalenka having an edge to level the playing field as her side of the court was 10% smaller than her opponent’s. Feely on Sunday made a point about men playing in women’s sports.

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Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka embrace at the net at the end of their Battle of the Sexes match, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (Christopher Pike/Pool Photo via AP)

“Please don’t ever believe the absolute garbage coming from ignorant liberals that letting men compete with women isn’t unfair to the women,” he wrote on X in response to the match.

The “Battle of the Sexes” name was borrowed from the historic 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King won the match in four straight sets and helped launch efforts to start a female tour and get equal pay in tennis.

The match didn’t appear to have the same effect on fans.

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios laugh ahead of their Battle of the Sexes tennis match in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (Amr Alfiky/Pool Photo via AP)

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Sabalenka and Kyrgios both defended the match, which the Australian won in straight sets.

“I don’t understand how people were able to find something negative in this event,” she said. “I was playing great tennis. It was an entertaining match. He won the match, but I showed great tennis … It was a great fight. It was interesting to watch.”

Kyrgios credited Sabalenka for holding her own on the court.

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“There’s nothing but positives that can be taken away from this,” Kyrgios said, adding that Sabalenka hung with someone who had beaten Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in his career. “I had to work for it. I had to sweat. I had to play. I had to run. It was not easy. Nothing came easy. So, let’s put that narrative out there rather than all the negativity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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