Karsten Braasch is one of tennis’ most recognisable players
The German never made any huge inroads in the sport but his unorthodox serve, the goggles he wore on court and his tendency to smoke in changeovers made him an unforgettable figure.
Braasch was a bit of a journeyman, a consistent tennis player on the ATP and ITF circuit with a career spanning between 1986 and 2001.
The now 58-year-old has a career-high ranking of No. 38 in the world but never made the second week of a Grand Slam or won a title.
Braasch’s notoriety in the sport would end up coming not in an official match but during an exhibition.
Karsten Braasch beat Venus and Serena Williams back-to-back
Serena and Venus Williams are widely considered as some of tennis’ most successful ever players.
Right from their debuts, the pair were seen as generational talents, a hype they lived up to with Serena ending her career with 23 Grand Slam titles and Venus with seven.
As a result of their dominance, many had raised the question as to whether they could compete with men.
Venus, who recently secured a tour win aged 45, and Serena had also both claimed that they could likely beat any man ranked outside the top 200.
So in 1998, that opportunity came when the pair took part in a Battle of Sexes exhibition at the Australian Open.
Serena faced Braasch first, with the German ranked 203 in the world at the time.
He overcame Serena 6-1 in one set before beating Venus 6-2 in the second.
The Williams sisters are two of tennis’ most successful ever playersGetty Venus Williams recently made her return to tennis after being inactive for over a yearGettyBraasch was 30 at the time and experienced pro while the Williams sisters were still teenagers.
Braasch had also made headlines as he played the two matches after finishing a round of golf and drinking two shandies.
The Battles of the Sexes
There have been several Battles of the Sexes — exhibition matches played between a man and a woman or a doubles match between two men and two women.
The most famous occurred in 1973 at the Houston Astrodome between 55-year-old Bobby Riggs and 29-year-old Billie Jean King.
King’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory was viewed by an estimated 50 million people in the United States and 90 million worldwide, it further cemented King’s status in the sport and helped her fight in the road to equality in tennis.
Has Novak Djokovic ever played a woman?
Djokovic and Li Na celebrate the China Open’s tenth anniversityIn October 2013, Novak Djokovic and Li Na played a light-hearted five game mini set in Bejjing, China to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the China Open.
Li was given a 30-0 advantage and along with Djokovic was not playing seriously.
The Serbian had even swapped places with ballboy at one point.
In the end, Li was victorious and went on to win the mini set 3-2.
When was the last Battle of the Sexes?
At the Open de Tennis de Bourg-de-Péage in France in December 2023, the final of the women’s draw was due to be played between Donna Vekic and Mirra Andreeva.
Vekic withdrew with injury and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk agreed to replace her, but withdrew as a result of the backlash of facing a Russian.
So in an unusual turn of events, the tournament director asked Yanis Ghazouani Durand, who was ranked 1145 at the time, to play the 16-year-old.
Ghazouani won in straight sets but Andreeva took home the trophy as the winner of the women’s draw.
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