Outrage over Nick Kyrgios’ disgusting comment about ex-girlfriend

There have been calls for Nick Kyrgios to be sacked with accusations the Australian made a disgraceful comment about his ex.

There have been calls for Nick Kyrgios to be sacked over a comment about ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya.

The Australian has caused outrage with many tennis fans taking offence over a two-word reply to a photo that showed him and Kalinskaya posing for the camera together while they were still dating four years ago.

Kyrgios replied to the photo by writing “second serve”.

The 29-year-old has not elaborated on his comment and it remains uncertain what his comment was trying to communicate.

Many fans, however, have interpreted the comment as a form of misogynistic swipe at world No. 1 tennis star Jannik Sinner.

Kyrgios has been one of the most outspoken critics of Sinner in recent weeks after the Italian’s doping violation was made public last month.

Sinner tested positive to an anabolic steroid in March, but the International Tennis Agency accepted his case that he did not willingly take the violating substance and he has not had to serve a suspension.

Nick Kyrgios' response has raised eyebrows. Photo: Twitter and Getty, Quin Rooney.

Kyrgios has publicly called for Sinner to face further punishment.

The situation is further clouded by Kyrgios’ dating history with Russian tennis star Kalinskaya, who is now dating Sinner.

Kyrgios and Kalinskaya split in May, 2020.

She wrote on Instagram at the time that the pair were no longer friends.

Kalinskaya, the world No. 15 player on the WTA rankings, started dating Sinner earlier this year and has been seen in his box for his recent US Open matches.

Because of his outspoken criticism of Sinner, the Australian Open champ’s fans have been sending a barrage of negative comments to Kyrgios on Twitter and Instagram.

The argument took a dirty turn on Sunday morning with Kyrgios’ vulgar two-word statement.

The situation exploded when a fan tagged Kyrgios in a tweet which showed the divisive tennis star and Kalinskaya at an NBA game.

Many fans have drawn a link between his comment and the infamous case of Kyrgios’ hurtful words about Donna Vekic when in the middle of a match against the Croatian starlet’s boyfriend Stanislas Wawrinka.

Kyrgios infamously said “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend” — referring to his doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Now Ex girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya Russian tennis player of Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios. Courtesy of Instagram.

The outrage towards Kyrgios extended to his current employer ESPN where the former Wimbledon finalist has been providing expert commentary in America.

The TV network is being put under pressure to drop Kyrgios. There had already been calls for Kyrgios to be dropped from covering Sinner’s matches because of his outspoken criticism.

The biggest complaint, however, focused on the potentially vulgar nature of the comment about Kalinskaya.

High profile American tennis TV commentator Jon Wertheim wrote on X: “Nick Kyrgios once made a misogynistic, wildly inappropriate comment about a WTA player, drew the anger of her ATP player boyfriend, his coach, and much of the locker room…but didn’t face real consequence, dismissed, as it was, as youthful indiscretion. That was 2015. He’s 29 now”.

Leading tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg also wrote: “Honestly a bit surprised to see ESPN didn’t yank Nick Kyrgios off air mid-#USOpen final, seeing his most recent disparaging tweet about a WTA player circulating.

“Given his history of demeaning women, women’s tennis, and WTA players, it was already a dubious choice to have him.”

One post from a Jannik Sinner fan account with 300,000 views on Twitter stated: “Disgusting, Kyrgios continues to show his true nature. Well done ESPN”.

One fan wrote: “ESPN, Kyrgios is a misogynist. His tennis career is over and he has no respect for the players or the game. Get rid of him”.

Another fan posted: “The squalor of this man is endless. You handed the microphone to a guy who has been disqualified primarily for unprofessional behaviour, verbal abuse, unsportsmanlike conduct, and obscene acts. Are you without scruples like him?”

Kyrgios did respond to further anger directed at him after his initial comment, but the context of his comment has not been confirmed.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia celebrates with his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi in 2022.

When responding to a journalist on Twitter, Kyrgios wrote: “Right… so I’m the one that’s the bad guy for saying something about it.

“I never brought it up lol. Don’t take offence if people are gonna bring it up. Simple.”

Another Twitter user responded to that comment by writing: “You truly don’t understand what abusive language and respect his towards another human being?”

Kyrgios defended himself by writing: “Abusive? What’s abusive about what I said? I had no intention to say anything about it. People wanna go there deal with the consequences.”

Weeks after Kyrgios’ break-up with Kalinskaya was made public in 2020, the Australian made several boasts about his sex life at the time.

Kyrgios admitted to sleeping with fans “on a weekly basis” while answering a range of fan questions during a Fortnite video gaming stream.

Kyrgios has been dating girlfriend Costeen Hatzi since 2021.

Hatzi has said the couple have discussed getting married many times.

“We love each other. (But) there’s no rush. It’ll happen when it happens,” she said.

“Nick tells me every day that he wants a baby.”

Kyrgios’ career on the court appears at a crossroads and it appears increasingly likely he will never reach the elite level he once played at.

His career off the court behind the microphone now also appears unclear.

Originally published as Outrage over Nick Kyrgios’ disgusting comment about ex-girlfriend