Tennis is tailor-made to produce bad behaviour – and Kyrgios delivers

Joe Hildebrand offers his take on a sport which produces a disproportionately high proportion of bad-tempered brats.

THE problem with Nick Kyrgios is the problem with tennis. And the problem with tennis is … well, the problem with tennis.

Has anyone ever stopped to question why the yellow ball both attracts and produces such a disproportionately high proportion of bad-tempered brats?

Actually, they probably have. The point is, it’s a lot.

While every sport has its bad boys, tennis somehow manages to produce them with a seasonal regularity that would put the proudest orchid breeder to shame.

And this is because tennis is a game that is uniquely crafted to put a person under the most precise, intimate and public pressure ever devised since the 12 labours of Hercules.

In every footy team or Test squad there is always a rogue or a ruffian or a scoundrel. But he is only one of 11 or 13 or 18.

That means that for every bad boy there are 10 or more good boys to soften the blow.

A bad boy in tennis, by contrast, typically comprises 100 per cent of the side.

And when Kyrgios played Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon, the bad boys comprised 100 per cent of both sides – a new statistical record.

Nick Kyrgios reacts during his men's singles match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

But tennis is tailor-made to produce bad behaviour.

Unlike every team sport, there is no one to hide behind, no one else to blame your mistakes on yet, unlike most individual sports, it is not a solitary pursuit in which you perfect the luxury of excellence in a self-contained bubble – like swimming or baton twirling.

Instead, tennis is more like boxing, except you’re not allowed to hit your opponent.

Little wonder the competitors get frustrated.

That’s why if a golfer throws a club, it could knock a nuclear bomb off the front pages, but a tennis player throwing a racquet is … well, just a tennis player.

In fact, we are more amazed when they’re calm. Think of the admiration given to Pete Sampras or Pat Rafter just for lasting an entire career without killing anybody.

Meanwhile, anyone watching a John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors match would demand their money back if all racquets were returned intact.

So don’t blame the player, man, blame the game.

Watch Joe on The Blame Game – Fridays 8.30pm on Sky News or stream on flashnews.com.au

Originally published as Tennis is tailor-made to produce bad behaviour – and Kyrgios delivers