Nick Kyrgios drops stunning racism claims about legends of tennis

High-profile figures in tennis are among those that have racially abused Nick Kyrgios and his family, he has revealed.

Nick Kyrgios playing in Australia and on Piers Morgan's show.

Nick Kyrgios has spoken candidly about the racism himself and his family have experienced in Australia since he rocketed to fame.

Kyrgios conducted an extended interview with a former social media nemesis and seemingly now a chum, outspoken Brit Piers Morgan.

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The duo cover a wide range of topics over about 50 minutes, including racism that his Malaysian mother Norlaila and Greek-born father George experienced after they emigrated to Australia.

Kyrgios, 28, was reluctant to delve too deeply into the topic, but dropped the sledgehammer revelation that it wasn’t just schoolyard bullying, but “some of the legends of our sport” that racially abused his family.

“Yeah the Kyrgios family have definitely dealt with their share of racism in Australia,” Kyrgios said on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Nick Kyrgios talked openly about racism his family has experience.

“But look it’s such a silly topic for me and I don’t like speaking about it.

“But yeah it’s been tough for us. You know, some of the legends of our sport have told me and my family to go back to where we came from.

“I was born in Australia, grown up there and represented the country for 27 years with anything I’ve done.

“So it’s definitely been something that we’ve had to deal with.

“But it just makes you stronger, I’ve got incredibly thick skin and it’s all a process.

“One day I hope that this topic’s just not mentioned anymore.”

One high-profile figure that did make documented comments about Kyrgios and another polarising tennis figure, Bernard Tomic, was swimming legend Dawn Fraser.

When Fraser was asked way back in 2015 about the petulant behaviour of the two young stars at the time, she replied: “They should be setting a better example for the younger generation of this country, a great country of ours.

“If they don’t like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from. We don’t need them here in this country if they act like that.”

Kyrgios reportedly responded to those comments at the time by calling Fraser a “blatant racist”.

Asked about how he would like to be judged, the Canberra-born Kyrgios opened up to Morgan about his own diverse friendship circle.

“You look at my friendship group, I have all different types of friends from everywhere and we all get along so well,” he said.

“And I think it’s just such a silly topic. We’re all human beings at the end of the day, when we all work together we can all do some incredible things together.

Nick Kyrgios has spoken his mind across his career. (Photo by Florian EISELE / various sources / AFP)

“And yeah, whether you’re white or black doesn’t matter to me. It’s just a very silly topic.”

Kyrgios has been a polarising figure throughout his career, with his outbursts on the court and a belief from some he has failed to capitalise on his talents regularly proving divisive.

The fact he has made over $18 million in his career from tennis alone, won seven career titles and reached a final of Wimbledon has left Kyrgios at least very comfortable with what he has achieved.

Morgan asked Kyrgios about retirement, with the Aussie coming off a horrendous year when he managed just one ATP Tour match due to injury.

Kyrgios still has plenty of unfinished business, but wishes there were some lower league options as exist in football.

The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are continuing their careers well into their late 30s by competing in leagues that are at least a rung or two below the highest level.

“Soccer’s got a little bit of a different setting, you don’t have to compete at the absolute highest level in the EPL or La Liga,” he said.

Kyrgios has often interacted with the crowd during matches. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Kyrgios with his girlfriend Costeen Hitzi.

“You know you have all these different leagues where you can get paid amazing amounts and play at maybe 60, 70 per cent.

“If that was an option for tennis, definitely, I would reassess my options. At the moment I’m dealing with some health issues, so just trying to get back healthy.

“I definitely don’t see myself going anywhere in the near future.

“I want to get back on Tour and have one-to-two more really, really good years and I think that’s possible.

“And then after if there are some more leagues that are offering some nice money then I’ll definitely look to extending my career.

“But there’s a lot of work in the tennis world that needs to be done. I’m a day-by-day guy, I don’t like to set any plans, I just see how my body’s feeling.

“Plans can change.”

Novak Djokovic was too good for Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon final. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP)

Among the other topic points - that is, when Morgan wasn’t talking about himself, his tweets or his own attempts at tennis, which sadly takes up much of the interview - Kyrgios covers some fascinating subjects.

They include the Aussie thanking Andy Murray for helping him overcome thoughts of suicide after he spotted signs of self-harm on the Aussie.

Kyrgios detailed his problems from four years ago when he suffered with depression and substance abuse after previously revealing that he was admitted to a psychiatric ward in London after losing to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2019.

Kyrgios said: “Andy was always a big supporter of me. As soon as I came on the Tour, he kind of saw a work in progress and took me under his wing.

“Then he realised later in my career that I don’t think I was coachable or I was on my own path, but he was always someone that was looking out for me.

“He saw (the self-harm) and he said, ‘What’s that on your arm?’ It was pretty bad at that stage.

“Andy obviously was trying to give me advice on it. But I was just so stuck in my ways at that time that I didn’t listen. Obviously I’m very thankful. I thank him a lot.”

If you wanna have the night of your life and memories that will last forever, you are kidding yourself if you are taking any other table but B 😂 https://t.co/SlVPhJCYSe

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) November 25, 2023

He also discussed how his mum can no longer watch his tumultuous tennis matches live – because she has a pacemaker.

The Canberran is a crowd favourite among tennis fans but his appearances sometimes see him overstep the mark or smash racquets or argue with officials.

For mum Norlaila, the thought of watching her son play tennis matches is considered far too stressful and causes great anxiety.

Kyrgios said: “She has a pacemaker now – so I don’t think she can come to any of my matches, especially the Australian Open or Wimbledon, with the ups and downs, the craziness that happens.

“It’s just too risky. So she watches from home. My whole team comes to watch me live. She’ll stay back at the accommodation and watch on TV.

“I know she’s watching me all of the time. I’ve stressed that woman out so much – and I’m sorry! She’s really proud of my work and how much I’ve grown.

“I wish she could watch me one last time. That would be a dream. It would be really special if she could tough it out for a couple of years more.”