Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️
Today’s tennis mood: Contemplative with a bit of excitement.
Aryna Sabalenka gives her side of the “Battle of the Sexes” story, and it’s compelling. Meanwhile, the Australian Open has been reluctant to give Nick Kyrgios a wild card, and he may have just given a (another?) reason not to do it. And, at 45 years old, Venus Williams keeps giving. Plus we’ll take a look at today’s action.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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Four Points
🎾 Did we get it wrong? When it comes to December’s Battle of the Sexes, Aryna Sabalenka certainly thinks so. On Tuesday, the world number one said she was “sad” about the negative reactions to the exhibition she played against Nick Kyrgios.
What she said: “What I’m sad about is that some people got it wrong, the whole idea of that event,” she said. “It wasn’t about proving something to anybody…It was about to show that tennis can be really huge and we can bring a lot of attention on the exhibition match, which usually never happens, and we just proved that. That’s all it was about.”
Yes, but: Under the moniker of “Battle of the Sexes” and everything that has meant to tennis, sport, and women, what did they expect? That said, she’s absolutely right that it brought attention (even if some of it was negative) to tennis. Still, as it was set up, it was a losing scenario for Sabalenka, no matter the outcome.
🎾 An out for the Australian Open? There’s been something of a silent standoff between Nick Kyrgios and Craig Tiley over a wild card into the singles draw at the Australian Open. It’s no secret that Kyrgios has been setting the stage for a return to Grand Slam play in Melbourne after injuries and (let’s face it) disinterest have kept him away from the tour. One problem: The clock has run out on his protected ranking, and he currently sits at 670 in the world. That means a wild card will be required for entry. But Tiley has remained cool to the idea.
No pressure: There won’t be pressure to grant the request based on results, that’s for sure. Kyrgios lost overnight 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of Brisbane to Aleksandar Kovacevic, who had this to say: “To be honest, I was expecting a little more than that in terms of adversity today…[It was] tough to scout him recently because he hasn’t been on tour for a while playing serious matches, so I didn’t really know what to expect.”
Yes, but: That doesn’t mean there won’t be business pressure. Kyrgios still remains a draw for a significant number of tennis fans, as well as casual sports fans in Australia. Ratings matter, so there might be a word from broadcasters. However, with sponsors dropping the once-promising player, there won’t be the same corporate influence there might have been years ago.
🎾 A lesson from Venus: At 45 years old, Venus Williams took the court in Auckland and showed not only that, even in a three-set loss, she deserved the wild card she was awarded — but also that certain things about the game are timeless. At a time when social media is full of players and coaches performing increasingly absurd (even if impressive), Venus is a perfect display of mastering the principles of the game: early preparation, stepping into the ball (and open-stancing when appropriate), clean stroke production, clear point of contact in front of the body, and a full follow-through. It’s a breath of fresh air we here at Court Theory HQ plan on inhaling all through 2026.
🎾 One to watch: Alex Michelsen vs. Learner Tien (2nd round - ATP 250 - Brisbane): Watch two childhood friends from California do battle down under. These two know each other’s games inside and out, which makes for a ton of fun to watch. Expect Michelsen to do his best to overpower Tien, while Tien counterpunches and uses Michelsen’s power against him at just the right moment. Who wins it? Magic 8 Ball says: Reply hazy, try again.
The record: Michelsen leads the head-to-head over Tien at the tour level 2-0. Both of those matches took place last year, and both wins were decisive in straight sets.
On the line: Tien will certainly want to end the hold Michelsen has over him and prepare himself well to defend his round of 16 points at the Australian Open. Michelsen also has round of 16 points to defend in Melbourne. But, more than that, he needs to start the year off strong after going 3-7 post-U.S. Open last year and having a very spotty year overall.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And, that’s game.
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On Tour
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Brisbane - WTA 500 (Hard)
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Jessica Pegula (2nd round)
Kimberly Birrell vs. Amanda Anisimova (2nd round)
Emerson Jones vs. Liudmila Samsonova (2nd round)
Leylah Fernandez vs. Dayana Yastremska (2nd round)
Auckland - WTA 250 (Hard)
Iva Jovic vs. Sara Bejlek (2nd round)
Sinja Kraus vs. Francesca Jones (2nd round)
Brisbane - ATP 250 (Hard)
Daniil Medvedev vs. Frances Tiafoe (2nd round)
Jiri Lehecka vs. Sebastian Korda (2nd round)
Hong Kong - ATP (Hard)
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (2nd round)
Coleman Wong vs. Gabriel Diallo (2nd round)
Andrey Rubelv vs. Yibing Wu (2nd round)
Marin Cilic vs. Nuno Borges (2nd round)
Sydney/Perth - United Cup (Hard)
Poland vs. Netherlands
United States vs. Greece
Switzerland vs. Argentina
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
💬 For real-time match commentary and conversation, follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
Around The Net
Here’s a headline (from The Guardian, no less 😬): Britain’s fragile frontrunners Draper and Raducanu try again to break injury cycles.
This Muchova-Tomljanovic match was so good that neither one should have lost.
The Australian Open has upped its prize money by 16 percent for 2026.
For The Athletic, Matt Futterman writes that Novak Djokovic’s days as a disrupter seem to be over.
On Served, Andy Roddick hits the big topics already looming large just a few days into 2026.
Alexander Zverev was incredulous that Hubi Hurkacz served him off the court. 🤭
