‘I love the term’: Costeen Hatzi’s surprise reaction to ‘negative’ WAG label
Costeen Hatzi, the girlfriend of Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios, has opened up about why she “loves” the “negative” label she’s been slapped with.
In recent years, a drove of so-called tennis “WAGs” have lead a reclamation of the controversial label and its diminutive connotations – among them, Costeen Hatzi, the partner of Australian star Nick Kyrgios.
In a wide-ranging new interview with Stellar, the influencer opened up about why she’s bucking the trend of “Wives and Girlfriends” past.
“I love the term WAG. I don’t know why there are negative connotations; I don’t know where they came from,” Hatzi said.
“I’m my own person, but at the same time, I’m supporting my partner, which I’m very happy to do. We support each other.”
A similar rhetoric has been shared by American influencer and businesswoman Morgan Riddle, the 26-year-old girlfriend of US player Taylor Fritz, who was previously dubbed “the most famous woman in men’s tennis” by the New York Times.
“If people want to disregard me because I’m ‘just a WAG’ so be it,” Riddle previously told Harper’s BAZAAR Australia/New Zealand. “It’s a privilege to be underestimated.”
Reflecting on her first impressions of – and subsequent feelings about – Kyrgios, who she met and began dating in late 2021, Hatzi told Stellar that the “only thing” she knew of him was his reputation among the Australian media as a “brat”.
“I definitely had my walls up because his reputation kind of threw me off a bit, which is unfair,” she admitted.
“In hindsight, I should have just been a bit less judgmental. He was the complete opposite (of what I expected). I thought he was going to be rude, but he was super respectful, nice and caring. We spent every single day together for a year. We fell in love pretty fast. We loved being around each other. We love each other’s energy.”
The couple now aim to spend no more than two weeks apart when Kyrgios is on the road.
“We know we’re in it for the right reasons so we’re very strong in that way,” Hatzi said.
“We just have each other’s backs. We’re a team. I always talk to him about how he’s feeling and where his head is at.
“He’s dealing with injury right now, so I’m doing the small things, like trying to massage his wrist. Whenever he’s travelling and playing, I like to help out by cooking or cleaning. That’s really what he values when he’s on the road – just a good, home-cooked meal or someone to help him with the washing. And I like doing that for him, because it sets him up for the tournament.”
Addressing speculation the pair will soon get married and start a family, Hatzi said they’ve “definitely had conversations”.
“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.”
Read the full interview with Costeen Hatzi inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)
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