Billie Jean King delivered a brutal verdict on the upcoming 'Battle of the Sexes' showdown between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka. Notably, the American tennis icon played one of the earliest such matches in 1973.Kyrgios and Sabalenka will take each other on in one of the modern versions of the 'Battle of the Sexes' at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on December 28. The WTA World No. 1 has faced a lot of criticism for accepting this challenge.Most recently, 39-time Grand Slam champion King compared the Kyrgios-Sabalenka battle to her match against Riggs. In an interview with the BBC, she claimed:"The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it. Everything else, no. Ours was about social change, culturally, where we were in 1973. This one is not." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe 82-year-old hoped for a Sabalenka triumph but reiterated the difference between the two matches."I hope it’s a great match. I want Sabalenka, obviously, to win, but it’s just not the same. Mine was really political. It was rough, culturally, what was coming in with it. I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win," Billie Jean King added.King took on Bobby Riggs in 1973, just months after the latter defeated Margaret Court. Riggs played a best-of-three against Court, but against King, the match was a best of five, and King managed to emerge victorious 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.Billie Jean King reveals if she thinks the Kyrgios-Sabalenka 'Battle of the Sexes' match will damage women's tennis' reputationAryna Sabalenka at the 2025 US Open - Source: GettyBillie Jean King was at the top of women's tennis in 1973 when she took on a then-55-year-old Riggs and defeated him. Aryna Sabalenka is also at the top of the women's game, however, her opponent, Nick Kyrgios, is 30 years old and still manages to win matches at the top level on the ATP Tour.King, in her interview with the BBC, was asked if Sabalenka-Kyrgios might damage women's tennis."I don’t know. I’ll have to ask her (Sabalenka) after she plays, but we have never said we are better than men, ever. We have talked about our entertainment value; sometimes a woman’s match ends up being better than a guy’s match. I get upset when people say, ‘you think you are better.’ We have never said that, never," Billie Jean King said.Sabalenka and Kyrgios will battle for two traditional sets. In case they are tied, a 10-point tiebreaker will settle the match.