Reason world's best women’s tennis player had smaller court than male opponent in 'battle of the sexes'

One of the modified rules for the 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match in Dubai over the weekend has left viewers scratching their heads.

The match saw women's number one Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios, who is currently ranked 671 in the world, take to the court.

In the end, Kyrgios from Australia would come out on top, winning with a score of 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday's match in Dubai.

The game was organised by the two players' shared management, and dubbed the 'Battle of the Sexes', but footage of the match shows one unusual aspect of the game.

This was that the markings for Sabalenka's side of the court were noticeably smaller than those on Kyrgios' side.

The court's unevenness cut an unusual sight, but why was this the case in the exhibition match?

The players shared a hug after the match (Christopher Pike/Getty Images)

Well, this wasn't some highly sophisticated multi-layered marketing ploy about how the person who drew the lines out should have gone to Specsavers, or a trick of camera perspective - it was a deliberate decision by the game's organisers.

The lines on Sabalenka's side were indeed nine percent smaller than those on Kyrgios' side, and there was a specific reason for this.

It was supposedly to counteract two things in the game which organisers determined would give Kyrgios an advantage.

One of those was a speed difference between male and female athletes, giving Sabalenka less space to run to return the ball.

As for the other, this was that it gave Kyrgios a smaller target to aim for with his shots, meaning that he had to be more precise in order to avoid hitting a ball out.

The modified court wasn't the only alteration made to the rules of the game, either.

Sabalenka during the match (Amr Alfiky - Pool / Getty Images)

For this match, the players were only allowed to take one serve each, and weren't allowed a second serve if they made a mistake on the first one.

This was to supposedly counteract a perceived advantage for Kyrgios, with a powerful serve that Sabalenka may have found difficult to return.

Speaking after the match, Kyrgios said: "I didn't really know what to expect. She broke my serve numerous times.

"Honestly, I had to strap in because she was putting the pressure on. She was hitting some amazing shots."

Meanwhile, Sabalenka said: "I really enjoyed the show, and I feel like next time - when I play him - I already know the tactics.

"I know his strengths, his weaknesses, and it's going to be a better match for sure."