Nick Kyrgios v Stefanos Tsitsipas fines, fallout: Is Australian star good for tennis?

Nick Kyrgios isn’t always nice. He is occasionally unstable, and can make people - fans and opponents alike - feel uncomfortable. But there’s a reason why he’s box office. Our writers debate whether that’s a good thing or not.

The great debate: Is Nick Kyrgios good for tennis?

Nick Kyrgios lit up Centre Court on Saturday night with a four-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas which was one of the best but also – even by his standards – most controversial of his career.

Kyrgios, 27, tried to have Tsitsipas defaulted during their third-round clash after the No 4 seed hit a ball into the crowd and also at one stage sarcastically exclaimed “nice shot” after an error by his opponent.

It led Tsitsipas to call the Australian “a bully” during his post-match press conference.

So, is Nick Kyrgios good or bad for tennis? We let the writers have their say . . .

The great debate: Is Nick Kyrgios good for tennis?

Stuart Fraser, Tennis Correspondent

They say that any publicity is good publicity, so Kyrgios is great for tennis in that regard. There is no doubt that his behaviour on the court entices more eyeballs to the sport.

Speak to tournament directors around the world and you would struggle to find one who would ever reject him for a wild card. He sells more tickets than anyone else on the men’s tour outside the long-established and popular quartet of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, increases television ratings and attracts extra media coverage.

There are times, though, when his antics do cross the line. I have been particularly uncomfortable recently seeing him abuse umpires and line judges, who do not deserve to be belittled and even bullied like this in public. I yearn for the day that an official stands up to him on the court and tells him where to go.

Nick Kyrgios’ regular back-and-forths with match umpires rubs some fans the wrong way. Picture: Getty

Owen Slot, Chief Sports Writer

The best three sets of tennis I’ve seen at Wimbledon were all off the racket of the controversial Australian. Clever, varied, powerful, delicate, sometimes ingenious. That is not bad for tennis – that is brilliant for tennis. Yes, he is dangerous; yes, he is unstable; yes, he can make his opposite man feel uncomfortable. No, he is not nice, but there is a place for dramatic tension in sport; it’s called entertainment.

His bullying of referees and line judges, however, is utterly reprehensible. Somehow, tennis has allowed this to carry on largely unchecked. The game needs a more comprehensive post-match review system. Highlight the disrespect and police it properly.

I wonder if Kyrgios would continue to bully officials if he wasn’t so readily allowed to get away with it.

At his best, Nick Kyrgios is arguably the most entertaining tennis player on the planet. Picture: Getty

Alyson Rudd

Kyrgios is good for tennis in the same way that a motorway pile-up is good for the advertising hoarding next to the traffic jam. He attracts headlines and comment, and his antics will turn a match into a pantomime, but he takes it too far and has become a hypocrite.

He speaks of fairness and hurt but he is unfair and he is hurtful. He spat towards a spectator during his first-round match. Imagine if Tsitsipas had done the same? The Australian would have harangued the umpire about it all week. Kyrgios creates a cauldron of pettiness that encourages heckling, which he in turn labels as abuse. Those who goad him think he relishes it. And he does, until it suits him not to.

Have we really reached the juncture where we need officials to be bullied by “a character” for the sport to grow in popularity? By all means be funny, Nick, but not quite so nasty.

Rick Broadbent

Kyrgios had a point in saying that Tsitsipas should have been defaulted for striking a ball into the crowd on Saturday. Mind you, Kyrgios himself should have been defaulted for spitting towards a fan earlier in the week.

There is something faulty in the defaulting department, but is he good for tennis? Well he draws attention to it and, let’s be honest, John McEnroe’s vintage explosions have softened to twee nostalgia over time, while PR-filtered tropes mean he is a counterpoint to the average sports star peddling unadulterated tripe.

There’s a touch of John McEnroe (L) about how Kyrgios carries himself – and attracts a crowd. Picture: AAP

Knocking around in the Dog & Fox the night before playing Rafael Nadal, as he has done in the past, is the stuff of the old-school football maverick. This week he recognised a face in a press conference and said: “You were in the pub last night.” It made a change from discussing backhand slices.

And he can be sublime when not ridiculing. But he goes too far. Spitting towards a fan is indefensible. Bullying a volunteer female line judge is pathetic. His old rant about “dirty scum” was just weird. Maybe he needs to take responsibility, rather than blaming his wrongs on old people’s eyesight or an unsympathetic world. He is bad for tennis if you want stars to sign up for unwanted role-model status and good if you want people to watch. He’s tennis clickbait, sporting Marmite.

Elgan Alderman

Kyrgios aligns with people who camp outside hospitals to see royal babies, to my mind: I don’t understand it, would never do it myself, but fundamentally I am glad it happens.

He is a brilliant tennis player, with an offhand ease to his most beguiling play – and that is why he frustrates so many. If he never wins a grand-slam singles title, despite clearly being talented enough, that’s fine – just like if Rory McIlroy and Emma Raducanu never do so again either.

As for Tsitsipas, he could have shown his mettle and overcome the aggro rather than hit a ball into the crowd (the worst thing that happened in their match). Kyrgios’s antics and grievances go too far, and spitting towards a heckler is deplorable – and he was justly fined.

Ideally, we would get edge and wit without the unsavoury aspects. But I suspect he will never change, and if we have to choose between all of Nick or none of him, I choose all.

This story first appeared on The Times website and has been published with permission.

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios v Stefanos Tsitsipas fines, fallout: Is Australian star good for tennis?