Aryna Sabalenka pulled into fresh controversy as Patrick McEnroe predicts her easy loss against top 17 year old boy

Aryna Sabalenka pulled into fresh controversy as Patrick McEnroe predicts her easy loss against top 17 year old boy (Image via Getty)

Patrick McEnroe has brought back an old tennis debate, and this time he has put Aryna Sabalenka right in the middle of it. Speaking on the Holding Court podcast, the former American player shared a strong opinion that quickly caught attention. He said even a top 17-year-old boys’ player could beat the current women’s World No. 1 without much trouble. This came while discussing Sabalenka’s past exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios, which was part of a modern “Battle of the Sexes” style event. That match, played for entertainment, is now being used again to compare men’s and women’s tennis levels. McEnroe made it clear he was not trying to disrespect women’s tennis, but his words still sparked fresh debate among fans.

Patrick McEnroe says Aryna Sabalenka would lose easily to top 17-year-old boys’ player

Patrick McEnroe explained his view in a very direct way. He said that if Sabalenka played against the best under-17 boys’ player in the world, the result would likely be one-sided. “The short answer is that if you know I was a decent pro as a journeyman type player, you know, ranked most of my career between 30, and you know, 75, 100, whatever it was,” he said. “But if you took the top Junior player in the world, you know, like the top 17-year-old and put him up against Aryna Sabalenka, you know they would they beat her 6-1, 6-1.” He quickly added that this was not meant to put down women’s tennis. He said he enjoys watching women’s matches and often prefers them over one-sided men’s matches. “It’s irrelevant, you know, I don’t say that to denigrate women’s tennis because I love women’s tennis and I’ll watch a great matchup more than I’ll watch a men’s, you know, blowout match,” he said.

Patrick McEnroe explains why comparing Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner is “a totally different game”

McEnroe also spoke about another common comparison, between Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner. Many fans point out that their forehand speeds can look similar on paper. But he believes that kind of comparison misses the bigger picture. According to him, tennis is not just about how fast the ball travels. He said there are many other factors that separate the men’s and women’s games, like topspin, movement, and overall physical differences. “It’s just a totally different game,” he said, making it clear that numbers alone cannot tell the full story. This is why debates like the “Battle of the Sexes” keep coming back. While exhibition matches can be fun to watch, they often lead to bigger discussions about how fair these comparisons really are.

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