Sports
Aryna Sabalenka to face Nick Kyrgios in Battle of the Sexes tennis showdown
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World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios announced Tuesday that they will be playing in a “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match next month.
The two tennis stars will face off in a modified exhibition on Dec. 28 in Dubai in front of 17,000 fans at Coca-Cola Arena.
The name of the Sabalenka-Kyrgios exhibition was borrowed from the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome.
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(Left) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in action against Polina Kudermetova of Russia in the second round of the women’s singles at the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Right) Nick Kyrgios of Australia plays during his match against James Duckworth of Australia and Aleksandar Vukic of Australia in the first round of the men’s doubles at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Mike Frey/Imagn Images;Mike Frey/Imagn Images)
The modifications are that Kyrgios will only get one serve, and that he would be hitting toward a smaller side of the court.
Since the end of the 2022 tennis season, Kyrgios has played in just five events, largely because of injuries — one in 2023 and four in 2025. He has since made a name for himself in the broadcast booth.

Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Grigor Dimitrov during a match on Day 3 of the World Tennis League at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
TENNIS STAR ARYNA SABALENKA NEARLY STRIKES BALLBOY WITH RACKET THROW IN FRUSTRATING LOSS
“I cannot wait to get back out on court,” Kyrgios said in an Instagram story. “Honestly, I’m feeling amazing. I never thought I would be back in this position, being able to travel the world, see my fans and play some amazing tennis.”
Due to his lack of play, Kyrgios, who was once ranked as high as No. 13, is currently ranked No. 652.
Both players will also take part in an exhibition in New York on Dec. 8, but not against each other: Sabalenka will play Naomi Osaka, and Kyrgios will face Tommy Paul.

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns a shot against Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, during the women’s finals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam champion, including each of the last two U.S. Opens. She also made the final in both this year’s Australian and French Opens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Silver considering all remedies for rampant tanking in NBA
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday that tanking has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory” and he’s considering “every possible remedy” — including taking away draft picks — to stop the type of overt behaviors he fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for this week.
“In the old days, it was just sort of an understanding among partners in terms of behavior,” Silver said before Saturday’s All-Star Saturday events. “I think what we’re seeing is modern analytics where it’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned. … Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view. Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”
Silver began his news conference by saying he had recently talked to 97-year-old Bob Cousy about the first All-Star Game in 1950, and they had both remarked at how far the game had come since then. That framed Silver’s line of thinking that after 75 years, it might be time to rethink how the league runs its draft, just as the league continues to experiment with its All-Star Game format.
Silver noted that in conversations with general managers and other members of the league’s competition committee, the incentive structure of the lottery has made it unclear that the worst teams are actually the teams with the worst records.
“If teams are manipulating their performance in order to get higher draft picks even in a lottery, then the question becomes … are they really the worst-performing teams?” Silver said. “It’s not clear to me, for example, that the 30th-performing team is that much measurably worse than the 22nd-performing team, particularly if you have incentive to perform poorly to get a better draft pick.
“It’s a bit of a conundrum. As I’ve said, the All-Star [Game] is 75 years old. The league is 80 years old. It’s time to take a fresh look at this to see to whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it.”
On several occasions Saturday, Silver reflected on the conundrum between the short-term incentives teams might have to lose games to improve their draft position and the long-term best interests of the league.
“It’s the whole community coming together and deciding what’s in the best interest,” Silver said. “It’s part of my job to remind everybody. … I understand what your short-term interests may be, but we’d better not lose sight of our fans here. We’d better not lose sight of the people who support this league day in and day out.”
Silver noted that last point as part of an answer to a question about the ongoing investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap in an endorsement deal between then-team sponsor Aspiration and star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Silver said he had no updates on the investigation, which is being conducted by Wachtell Lipton in New York.
“It’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed,” Silver said.
“I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star [Weekend] is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is to do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things now stand.”
Silver said he had no timeline on when that investigation might conclude.
He did, however, provide an update on the NBA’s plans for expansion, noting that he expected the board of governors to discuss the issue at its next meeting in March and then start reaching out to potential expansion cities and owners to gauge interest. He noted that the league was not considering a relocation of any of its current franchises.
“I think the logical next move would be to say, ‘All right, we’ve had those discussions internally, we’ve made decisions about cities to focus on and what the opportunity is, and now, we’ve got to go out into the marketplace,'” Silver said. “I think that’s probably the most important step, to find out who is potentially interested in owning a franchise in particular cities, what’s the value of that franchise. There’s some work to do in terms of potential conference realignment. That’s the next step there.”
Sports
Big Clash in Colombo Today: PCB Chairman Meets National Team Ahead of India Match – SUCH TV
Colombo: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi, met the national cricket team and management ahead of the crucial match against India, boosting the morale of the Shaheens.
During the meeting in Colombo, the PCB chairman praised the players’ determination, commitment, and preparation, while extending his best wishes for the high-stakes encounter. He encouraged the team to play with confidence and maintain their fighting spirit on the field.
Captain Salman Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, all squad members, and the coaching staff were present at the meeting. PCB Chief Operating Officer Sameer Ahmed, PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer, and Director Media Aamir Mir also attended the session.
It is worth noting that Pakistan and India are set to face each other today at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The much-anticipated clash is expected to be watched jointly by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and ICC Chairman Jay Shah.
Sports
2026 Winter Olympics: Live updates from Milan Cortina
The second Sunday of the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy one for fans of Team USA.
Mikaela Shiffrin skis in the giant slalom — the race she won at the 2018 Olympics, and her second shot at a medal in Milan Cortina. It’s also the race where she suffered a severe injury with a puncture wound in 2024. Shiffrin has had to deal with PTSD from the crash, and competing again in Olympic giant slalom is part of her comeback. Speedskater Erin Jackson will attempt to defend her Olympic gold in the 500 meters. Pairs figure skating begins, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea the top American pair. They had clutch performances to help the U.S. win gold in the team event and have an outside chance of a medal. And U.S. men’s hockey will be back in action against Germany.
Key events (all times ET)
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4:00 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom
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11:03 a.m. — Women’s 500m speedskating
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1:45 p.m. — Pairs figure skating
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3:10 p.m. — Men’s hockey (USA vs. Germany)
MORE: Medal tracker | Full schedule of events | Olympics 101
Here’s a live look at the top moments from Sunday’s events.
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