Andrew Cotter
Commentator on BBC One

It's very interesting that the court was laid overnight, and this is both of their first chances to play on the surface.

Lovely from Aryna Sabalenka, who rushes to meet Nick Kyrgios' drop shot with a drop shot of her own which her opponent has no chance of getting to.

A missed serve from Nick Kyrgios and it's break point Sabalenka.

She can't get it over the line though, as Kyrgios rushes forward before dinking over a delicate drop shot.

We go to deuce.

Aryna Sabalenka does well to deal with the first drop shot before getting caught out at the net.

The Belarusian moves Kyrgios from one side of the court to the other, but she fails to lift a backhand slice over the net. 30-30.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Cotter
Commentator on BBC One

The single serve was the curse there for Sabalenka.

A missed serve helps Nick Kyrgios on his way to a 0-30 lead and the Australian kisses the baseline with a forehand winner to bring up the first break point.

Sabalenka goes big with the serve and fails to hit the mark, gifting Kyrgios the first break.

Annabel Croft
Former British number one on BBC One

One thing we can see early on in this match is that it's quite a slow court. If it was a fast court, that would have been a nightmare for Sabalenka.

The event is being held at the 17,000-seater Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Tickets ranged from about £100 in the upper tier stands to upwards of £600 on courtside benches.

The crowd seem a bit subdued out there. Not much cheering for either player yet.

Annabel Croft
Former British number one on BBC One

Couldn't have been a better start from Sabalenka. Certainly from the evidence of that first game, we are going to get some rallies.

There's that famous Nick Kyrgios kick-serve, which gets the better of Aryna Sabalenka.

Kyrgios can do nothing to stop a backhand winner down the line from the Belarusian on the next point, but he gets the hold over the line.

A fierce backhand cross-court winner from Sabalenka before Kyrgios pushes into the net.

The women's world number one is on the board.

Andrew Cotter
Commentator on BBC One

Most of the crowd are going to lean their support early on to Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka blazes a winner down the line before sending her serve wide. She won't get a second chance this time. 30-30.

Nick Kyrgios wins the first point of this Battle of the Sexes-style match as Aryna Sabalenka finds the net, but the Australian lobs the next point long. 15-15.

Here we go then. Aryna Sabalenka v Nick Kyrgios.

The women's world number one serves first to get us started.

*denotes next server.

Image source, Getty Images

A reminder of the rules before we get started...

The exhibition match will be the best of three sets, with a 10-point tie-breaker if it goes to a decider.

Each player will only receive one serve - rather than the usual two.

Sabalenka's side of the court will be 9% smaller after tournament organisers Evolve said data showed female players move about 9% slower on average than their male counterparts.

This is what the court will look like...

Today's event is being held at the 17,000-seater Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Tickets ranged from about £100 in the upper tier stands to upwards of £600 on courtside benches.

The last Grand Slam that Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios both played in was the 2025 Australian Open.

Kyrgios’ fastest serve there was 132mph as he lost to Britain's Jacob Fearnley in the first round.

Sabalenka fell in the final to Madison Keys, when her fastest serve speed was 116mph.

Kyrgios' average service speed was 115mph, while Sabalenka's was 102mph.

Image source, Getty Images

Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent on BBC One

This is going to be the intriguing part, Kyrgios has said it's no big deal if he loses this match. I wonder if when someone falls behind it will veer more towards an exhibition so that there is an excuse when someone loses.

Nick Kyrgios is out on the court at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai and he is looking fairly relaxed as he walks out of the tunnel with a mascot.

Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, emerges in the stands in a glittering trench coat to the sound of 'Eye of the Tiger'.