Nick Kyrgios defended Aryna Sabalenka’s decision to play against him by noting that he is one of the rare players who have beaten every Big Four member and acknowledging that the Belarusian played solidly.

It is not a secret that the top-ranked WTA player was receiving criticism and scrutiny for weeks, with the harshest critics accusing her of putting women’s tennis at risk of being damaged.

When the moment came for the two to step on the court in Dubai, Sabalenka twice recovered from a break down in the first set before Kyrgios took it 6-3. In the next set, the four-time Grand Slam champion led 3-1 before the 2022 Wimbledon finalist stormed back to complete a 6-3 6-3 win.

Although Sabalenka definitely didn’t embarrass herself by losing with such a scoreline, she still received strong criticism. The majority of the critics claimed that by having her court dimensions reduced by 9 percent – and still losing to Kyrgios – she didn’t benefit women’s tennis.

Kyrgios, who has had wins over Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, thinks Sabalenka put him up to challenge and that was all the critics needed to know.

Kyrgios: She proved that she could compete against someone who has beaten the GOATs

“Let me just remind you that I’m one of 16 people that have ever beaten the ‘Big Four’ – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal have all lost to me. She just proved she can go out there and compete against someone that’s beaten the greatest of all time. There’s nothing but positive that can be taken away from this,” Kyrgios stated.

“Everyone that was negative watched. That’s the funny thing about it as well, like this has been the most talked about event probably in sport in the last six months if we look at how many interactions we had on social media, in the news. I’m sure the next time we do it, if I’m a part of it and if she’s a part of it, it’ll be a cultural movement that will happen more often, and I think it’s a step in the right direction.”

Kyrgios also admitted that he was “nervous” and claimed that Sabalenka definitely made it hard for him out there.