Tennis: Why you should demand the money back if you’ve paid to watch Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios, the tennis brat’s tennis brat, believes there’s no point in getting a coach – and he doesn’t want to win grand slams.

Nick Kyrgios, the tennis brat’s tennis brat, is only here for the beer

As Dustin Martin lines up to run out with his Richmond teammates on Thursday night to take on Collingwood in the match that marks the AFL’s return from lockdown, will he be thinking: “Just a bit of fun really. Doesn’t matter if we win. Don’t really want to make the finals. Not sure my body’s up to it.”

Or what about James Tedesco, when he returns to the Roosters line-up for the NRL round five clash against Canterbury? Will he be telling his mates: “I don’t really want to win another premiership. I just want to do it my way, have fun with it and just play.”

And will either of them be suggesting that they are too set in their ways to take much notice of a coach – and not very good at taking advice anyway.

I probably don’t need to spell out the answer to any of those questions – we all know that Dusty and Teddy are desperate for another title and will do whatever it takes. And they will certainly be taking notice of the coach.

Sadly, however, one of Australia’s best tennis players – he’s currently ranked 40 in the world – thinks all of those things.

Nick Kyrgios, the tennis brat’s tennis brat, believes there’s no point in getting a coach – and why would he, because he doesn’t want to win grand slams.

 Kyrgios, who has wasted much of his massive potential because he has refused to employ a coach and get properly fit, has told a tennis podcast he’s just here for the beer.

“Personally, I think (hiring a coach) is a little bit of a waste of money because I think they get paid way too much,” Kyrgios said. “And, for me, I don’t have a goal of winning grand slams. I just want to do it my way, have fun with it and just play.

“So to get a coach for me is pointless. I just don’t think a coach is ready – and I’m not going to put them through it too because it would just be a nightmare.

“Where I’m at my career now, it’s just too far gone, I think for a coach, because I’m too set in my ways and I just don’t like to listen to advice, to be honest.

“I don’t believe my body will hold up for seven matches at a grand slam, potentially playing three to four hours (each match).

“If I could, I’d just be on the beers every time I play – afterwards. I just want to chill out. I just think the sport’s taken a bit too seriously.”

It’s taken seriously, Nick, by the millions of Australian tennis fans who see your potential, have supported you throughout your career and dream of you representing them on the world stage. Many of those fans would give anything to be in your shoes. Most of them understand that when you accept the benefits of being an elite sports star, you must also accept the responsibility to give it your best shot. 

Both my kids, like their old dad, played sport from an early age with plenty of enthusiasm and a modest serving of talent. I was always happy to tell them that participation was more important than winning. Get out there and have a crack, get a bit fit, have fun, enjoy the time with your mates. Doesn’t matter if you win or lose.

But it’s different with elite athletes. They are supported by taxpayer-funded government programs and organisations such as Tennis Australia as youngsters, then their income — salaries, prizemoney, sponsorship deals and more — ultimately comes out of the pockets of sports fans, who pay to watch them. With that comes responsibility. Responsibility to take every ounce of potential, everything you have learned from coaches and mentors, every shout of encouragement from the stands and play as hard and as well as you can.

We don’t buy tickets to sporting events or subscribe to pay TV to watch athletes having a bit of fun. That’s what we do with the kids at cricket on Saturday morning. We pay to watch athletes trying their best to win.

With most of them, that is what we get. The drive to win is the motivating force behind most athletes. And it’s not just the highly paid superstars. On every footy and cricket field, basketball and netball court, running track and velodrome, there are sportsmen and winning leaving it all out there. Thousands of Olympic athletes competing in sports that command nowhere near the attention of tennis work full-time jobs and train at night, giving their all for little financial gain, with the ultimate goal of winning. Even in tennis, players such as Ash Barty, John Millman and Alex de Minaur fight to the very last every time they go out on court. 

But not Nick Kyrgios. And anyone who has paid to watch him play would be within their rights to demand their money back.