After reaching the final at the Wimbledon Championships in 2022 and beating Daniil Medvedev at the subsequent US Open, Nick Kyrgios has essentially disappeared from the radar. The Australian player had a serious injury and played only one match in 2023, before taking a long break that lasts until today.
Although he hasn’t played for a long time, Nick never misses an opportunity to be the center of attention and create controversy. Kyrgios worked with ESPN during the 2024 US Open and was heavily criticised for his tough stance on world number 1 Jannik Sinner, who ended up in the middle of a doping case where he was found innocent by the ITIA.
Nick Kyrgios© YouTube screenshot
The Australian repeatedly attacked the two-time Grand Slam champion, saying he did not believe his version of events and also criticising the anti-doping system. As if that wasn’t enough, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist made a very controversial joke about Anna Kalinskaya – Sinner’s current girlfriend and with whom Nick had an affair in the past.
It is not yet clear when the Aussie talent will return to play an official tournament in the ATP tour. Many thought he would participate in the US Open, which is played on a surface very suitable for his style of play, but it did not happen. Kyrgios is a very spectacular player with unpredictable shots, so tennis fans hope to see him on the tennis court very soon.
Kyrgios is controversial
Nick is one of the most talented but at the same time peculiar players of the ATP tour, genius and irregularity and often failed to use to the best all his great talent. Wimbledon finalist Nick has recently come under criticism for his social media attitude, the athlete has repeatedly attacked and in some cases exaggerated about the world number one Jannik Sinner.
Nick Kyrgios© YouTube screenshot
For the Australian not everyone had the same rights and in the past athletes who have experienced the same situation as the Italian ace have gone to face disqualification. These words have generated constant controversy on social media and now the haters against Kyrgios are constantly increasing. In addition to that, the Australian was the protagonist of a s*xist joke against Anna Kalinskaya, Sinner’s girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend.
It is not a simple period for Kyrgios who in these hours spoke of other speaking in the podcast of Tennis Insider Club and he treated many topics: “I never thought of becoming a professional, I started playing at seven and got to about 15, climbed the rankings, and became number one in the junior world. Certainly I never thought of being at the level of Federer and Nadal. At 17 I won a Challenger and noticed that few had done it, I think of Dimitrov, Federer or Raonic and I started to laugh”.
Kyrgios is one of the few who has beaten the Big Three and he continued: “I don’t think Federer, Nadal or Djokovic ever thought they could lose to me. I think they look back and think about how the hell we managed to lose against me, I wasn’t very professional and I certainly didn’t play tennis. It was the beginning of my career”. Kyrgios recently took part in a UTS event in New York – the tour organised by top coach Patrick Mouratoglou – where he showed that he was in excellent condition.
Jon Wertheim slams Nick
The recent comments of the Australian did not like fans and professionals, especially the one about his ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya. Top journalist Jon Wertheim takes a shot at Kyrgios on his official X account: ”Nick once made a misogynistic and totally inappropriate comment about an WTA player, which angered his ATP boyfriend, coach and much of the locker room… but did not have to suffer any real consequences, as he was considered a youth indiscretion. That was in 2015. He is now 29 years old.”
Nick Kyrgios© YouTube screenshot
Despite being asked several times by the media during the US Open, Sinner never wanted to answer the Australian. “I don’t want to respond to what he said. Everyone is free to say everything, so it’s okay. If that is the case, let’s see. It’s going to be different, for sure. Maybe I say something now, and then the reaction is going to be something else because you live in this moment. But, no, I’m always quite relaxed. I’m someone who forgets quite fast. Everyone is quite free to say everything, so it is what it is” – the 2-time Grand Slam champion said in New York. The hope is that Nick finally decides to mature and express his talent on the tennis court.