WTA World No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka was a guest on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday, December 9.
.@SabalenkaA is in Studio 6B to talk The Battle of the Sexes exhibition match tonight! #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/2AfGeziivA
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) December 10, 2025
Sabalenka made her second appearance on the show with the first being in September after winning the 2025 US Open.
.@usopen winner @SabalenkaA crashes Jimmy’s monologue accompanied by her fellow winner “Carlos Alcaraz” (Fred Armisen) 🤣 #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/zlzgTQtxXw
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) September 9, 2025
The Belarusian player stayed an extra night in New York City after playing in the Garden Cup December 8 exhibition with Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios, and Tommy Paul.
Fallon talked with her about the upcoming Battle of the Sexes match on December 28 against Nick Kyrgios.
What Aryna Sabalenka Said
Sabalenka is excited for the challenge to play a male player and echoed a sentiment recently shared in other press appearances saying she will “kick his a#$.”
She sees it as a win-win for herself. Playing and hopefully defeating a male player will elevate tennis and attract new fans to the sport who will be perhaps tuning into this event having never watched in the past.
Her Autograph For Fallon
Fallon asked her about signing her coach Jason Stacy’s bald head as part of the fun she has with her team during a rigorous tennis season.
Lucky all the way! pic.twitter.com/rpCWwwtGO4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2024
As a result, she autographed above his eyebrow with Sharpie as his keepsake.
.@SabalenkaA signs Jimmy’s forehead 😅 #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/KnY6bt089T
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) December 10, 2025
“Battle Of The Sexes” Backlash
While Sabalenka is excited for the event, there are many who think it is a bad idea.
She said it will be a fun event, but those who viewed the original 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” with Billie Jean King defeating Bobby Riggs as a groundbreaking result that forever changed how women’s sports were viewed do not agree.
Bobby Riggs and I played in the Battle of the Sexes inside the Houston Astrodome, with a global audience of 90M watching, 52 years ago today.
This was never just a tennis match.
It was about equality, respect, and demonstrating that women belong on the same stage as men, in… pic.twitter.com/lwd8lPj87e
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 20, 2025
These same people think Sabalenka is in a lose-lose situation. If she loses against Kyrgios, she will be criticized because she is World No. 1 and Kyrgios is currently ranked 672nd in the world with a resume nowhere near as comprehensive as hers. If she defeats Kyrgios, people believe it will not be a big deal because of the disparity of their rankings and the fact that he has barely played in recent years due to various injuries to his wrist and knee.
