The life, career and controversies of Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios
He’s the Aussie sports star tennis fans love ... or love to hate. And he’s back in the news again. We take a look at the many highs and lows of Nick Kyrgios.
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He’s the Aussie tennis star fans love, or love to hate.
A polarising figure on the pro circuit, the 27-year-old Canberran is rarely out of the headlines, at times for his his heroic efforts on centre court, others for his many epic meltdowns.
In July, 2022, Kyrgios was fined heavily for spitting in the direction of fans in his first round win, before playing a fiery match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitipas, who hit a ball into the crowd and repeatedly tried to hit Kyrgios in the body from close range.
The pair traded barbs after the match and both were fined for offences during the game.
But on the other side of the ledger is a player with a natural and enviable ability for the game.
“I think he’s the most talented tennis player that I’ve seen in 10 years,” veteran player-turned-commentator John McEnroe said.
Fellow world number one Andy Roddick added: “It’s insane what he’s able to do on the court, I wish I would have had his talent.”
We take a look at how the Kyrgios journey began.
EARLY YEARS
Kyrgios was born in Canberra in 1995.
His father, George, is of Greek descent, while his mother, Norlaila, is Malaysian.
He is the youngest of three children behind brother Christos and sister Halimah.
According to his bio on the Tennis Australia website, outside of sport, Krygios enjoys playing Xbox and sometimes takes his console with him overseas when he’s playing tournaments.
SPORTING CAREER
Kyrgios started playing tennis at age four.
At the age of eight he went on to win the Australian Open 2013 boys’ junior title by beating South Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, with whom Krygios would go on to win the men’s doubles final at the 2022 Australian Open, cementing their nickname as the Special Ks. Krygios turn professional in 2013.
Despite his clear talents on the tennis court, Krygios is a keen fan of basketball and at the age of 14 made the choice to pursue tennis over basketball.
He is currently ranked No.2 in Australia and No. 40 on the ATP Tour.
In 2016, he reached a career highest singles ranking of 13.
He has won 184 matches and lost 109 and picked up six titles and total career earnings just shy of $10m in both singles and doubles.
TENNIS BLOW UPS AND MELTDOWNS
One of the defining characteristics of Krygios’ career in top level tennis is his frequent run ins with umpires, opponents, hectoring spectators and questions from probing journalists with whom Krygios has sometimes had a strained relationship.
Among Kyrgios’ most notable on-court antics;
■ Montreal Masters 2015:Sledged Swiss star Stan Wawrinka by alleging fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with his girlfriend.
■ French Open, 2017: Grief-stricken following the death of his grandfather, asked for a beer during a match against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
■ Italian Open 2019: Walked off court after slamming his racquet into the clay, kicking a water bottle and throwing a chair. Was defaulted from his second-round match
■Cincinnati Masters 2019: Copped a US$113,000 fine for a list of offences including unsportsmanlike conduct, ball abuse, obscenities and verbal abuse.
■ Miami Open, March, 2022:Launched a tirade of verbal abuse against umpire Carlos Bernardes and smashed his racquet after a fourth-round loss.
■ATP Houston event, April 2022: Launched a fiery tirade against an umpire during a match against American Reilly Opelka after Opelka returned a serve that Kygios believed was out.
■Wimbledon, June 2022:Ranted at fans and called a line judge a “snitch”. Spat in the direction of heckling fans after match point.
NICK COPS DEATH THREATS, VILE ABUSE
Following his outburst in Houston, Kyrgios shared examples of some of the vile and abusive private messages he’d been sent via Instagram, which included death threats.
“You are f****** dead, watch your back,” one correspondent wrote.
Others made threats against his mother and urged him to quit the sport.
NICK SHOWS HIS SOFTER SIDE
While Krygios’ temper has sometimes been on show during competitions, he has also shown the public his softer side.
In March, 2022 after losing to Rafael Nadal in a match in which the Australian had given the Spaniard a run for his money, Krygios flung his racquet into the ground in frustration causing it to careen into a wall, narrowly missing the head of a ballboy, who managed to duck out of the way just in time. Kyrgios later took to Instagram to apologise.
“Hey guys, I just wanna apologise to that ball kid at the end of the match!” he wrote.
“It was a complete accident and was frustrated at the end of the match. My racket took a crazy bounce and was never my intention. If anyone knows who that ball kids is, send me a message and I will send a racket to him. I’m glad he’s OK!”
He was so nervous! But hopefully makes use of the racket!!! Take it easy young king â¤ï¸ðŸ‘‘ pic.twitter.com/nIIBaFinCR
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 18, 2022
His compassion was also on show in the wake of the 2019 summer bushfires when he started a fundraising campaign that raised almost $5m and again in the early days of the pandemic when he offered to personally deliver food to those whose incomes had been obliterated.
“If ANYONE is not working/not getting an income and runs out of food, or times are just tough ... please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach,” Kyrgios wrote.
“Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to share whatever I have.
“Even just for a box of noodles, a loaf of bread or milk. I will drop it off at your doorstep, no questions asked!”
Kyrgios also launched the NK Foundation in 2015 to create sporting opportunities, and a safe space, for underprivileged young people in Melbourne.
Asked why he was motivated to set up the foundation, Kyrgios told The Daily Telegraph in late 2020: “I’ve lost my way a lot; I felt alone in a sea of people. I didn’t feel like I could talk to anyone about my feelings. I was fighting a lot of things and I didn’t feel like I had a home because I was always travelling. I don’t want to lose that feeling [of security] ever again – and I want to provide that to kids.”
PERSONAL LIFE
As a young, wealthy sports star with a global profile, Krygios’ love life has often been a subject of both attention and speculation.
In 2017, Kyrgios was photographed outside a London nightclub with two young female tennis players, sparking speculation of troubles in his relationship with Croatian-Australian tennis pro Ajla Tomljanovic.
As news.com.au reported, Tomljanovic deleted all photos of the pair from her Instagram account and deactivated her social media following the publication of the pictures.
But the women - Aussie tennis player Monique Belovukovic and British rising star Chelsea Samways - hosed down the speculation, insisting the trio were just friends.
In May, 2020, Krygios spoke about his recent break-up with Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya, but also admitted that, when he was not in a relationship, he regularly slept with female fans.
“Yeah, in all seriousness, if I’m not seeing someone, it’s a weekly thing,” he said.
Kyrgios began dating model Chiara Passari in July, 2020 but the pair split following a stint in Covid quarantine in an Adelaide hotel in 2021.
Kyrgios and Passari subsequently slept in separate rooms to see out their quarantine.
Kyrgios is now dating blogger Costeen Hatzi, 22, who has become a fixture at his matches.
Kyrgios said he was “obsessed” with his new love, whom he called “the best girlfriend in the world”.
ASSAULT ALLEGATION
In July 2022 came the shock news that Kyrgios had been charged with assaulting ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari in a domestic setting.
Kyrgios’ legal team said their client was “taking the matter seriously”.
“The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,” Barrister Jason Moffett said.
“Given the matter is before the court … he doesn’t have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we’ll issue a media release,” Mr Moffett said.
On February 3, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari on a night out in Canberra after his lawyers unsuccessfully tried to have his case dismisssed on mental health grounds.
NEW NETFLIX SERIES
The mercurial Aussie is set to lay it all on the table in the upcoming Netflix series Break Point, which will take viewers inside the world of professional tennis.
Krygios will feature in the first episode of the 10-part series which launches on January 13.
The episode will take viewers on a rollercoaster ride through Krygios’ career with a special focus on his 2022 Australian Open campaign.
Originally published as The life, career and controversies of Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios
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