The match that Sabalenka and Kyrgios will play in Dubai is not the first match that pits athletes of different sexes against each other. Unequal challenge? Not always
Women against men. The battle of the sexes, as if it were easy to enclose an unequal gender challenge in a slogan because it is regulated from the start by an assumption of male superiority. Unfortunately, as opportunities in the sporting field have never been equal, the results achieved by males and females along the way inevitably make a difference. Which sooner or later will have to be filled, staging (also) sporadic challenges like the one between Kyrgios and Sabalenka today in Dubai. Call them if you want: performances. But in any case, avoiding classifying it as a folklore show, crossings of this type offer the hypothesis of a common future, where we challenge each other on equal terms. More recent example: a couple of months ago Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, winner of two gold medals (100 and 200 meters) at the Tokyo 2020 World Championships and bronze in the 100 at the Paris 2024 Games, challenged as many men in the hundred meters (i.e. 100), all students from North Carolina University with good athletic preparation. The event, which took place on a football field, was organized by the YouTuber MrBeast who offered 100,000 dollars as a prize. Surprised, but also not: Melissa beat them all (at the same time). An American? Not even. A demonstration that yes, it can be done.