Tennis 2022: Nick Kyrgios fires back at Lleyton Hewitt as United Cup fallout sinks to new low

Clearly upset by remarks from United Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Kyrgios has vented his disapproval as relations between the Aussie No. 1 and his teammates hit a new low.

Nick Kyrgios in action against Grigor Dimitrov at the World Tennis League at Coca-Cola Arena on December 21, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Nick Kyrgios declared Lleyton Hewitt threw him “under the bus” as relations between the controversial tennis star and his Australian teammates plunged to a new low.

Australian team captain Hewitt has expressed his frustration on Thursday night at Kyrgios’ lack of communication about his ankle injury status, which saw him pull out of the United Cup the day before scheduled games, forcing teammate Alex de Minaur to play opponents marked for Kyrgios.

But after Kyrgios’ ex-girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic withdrew from her match against Great Britain’s Harriet Dart hours before it was scheduled on Friday evening, Kyrgios pondered on social media whether Tomljanovic would get similar treatment from Australia’s female captain Sam Stosur.

Mmm I wonder if Stosur will throw her under the bus like our captain did for me….. ‘hard to prepare when you don’t know what’s going on’ 🤭🤭

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) December 30, 2022

In response to a post on Twitter revealing Tomljanovic had withdrawn from her match due to a left knee injury, Kyrgios tweeted: “Mmm I wonder if Stosur will throw her under the bus like our captain did for me…. ‘hard to prepare when you don’t know what’s going on”.

It followed an attack by Kyrgios’ manager Daniel Horsfall on Hewitt and United Cup organisers, after Hewitt revealed he found out at exactly the same time as the Australian team that Kyrgios was pulling out of the tournament — 10 minutes before he was to line up alongside them at a press conference on Wednesday.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios came under attack over his lack of communication about his ankle injury status.

Hewitt said he’d contacted Kyrgios about his injury status and the response took a while, affecting the preparation of the rest of the team.

“I am a little confused as to why NKs prep is treated any different to other players,” Horsfall wrote on Twitter. “These guys know as well as anyone, you do what you can to get there on the day, if you can’t make it you withdraw and update those who need to know, if it isn’t passed on, NK is not responsible.

“Secondly, if anyone in that team cared enough to reach out and check in on a fellow “teammate” every once and (sic) a while to see how they were feeling on any level. They’d know the situation.”

Kyrgios had practised on Wednesday, giving himself until the last minute before deciding not to risk playing injured. Tournament organisers were told, and they passed that onto Team Australia moments before they fronted the press.

On Friday, Tomljanovic sat alongside her Australian teammates as her replacement, Maddison Inglis, took on Dart at Ken Rosewall Arena.

For the second day in a row, Kyrgios was spotted training on Friday morning at the practice courts at Sydney Olympic Park, where Australia’s players were conducting their own preparations for matches that evening and in coming days.

Kyrgios’ US-based media advisor said he was not available for interview on Friday.

After de Minaur’s defeat on Thursday night, Hewitt revealed his disappointment at the lack of communication from Kyrgios.

Nick Kyrgios had practised on Wednesday, giving himself until the last minute before deciding not to risk playing injured in the United Cup.

“I was in the same boat as all the other players yesterday, I didn’t know anymore,” Hewitt said.

“So it was pretty tough for everyone. It was more the lack of communication I think, for these guys not knowing.

“I’m so proud of this bloke (de Minaur) and his effort, and how he makes playing for his country a priority, it’s something I’m very proud of.

“For the whole team, it was pretty tough not knowing what was going on for the last 24 hours.

“It’s more the communication, and if it was just worrying Nick, that’s one thing. But when it revolves around a team and other people, and their preparation, they want to be playing as well as they possibly can, not just in this event but leading into the Australian Open, that’s probably the hardest thing.”

Asked how communication with Kyrgios could be improved, Hewitt said: “Just responding, that’s the normal way of doing it.”

Then asked if he’d contacted Kyrgios and received no response, Hewitt replied: “There was a little while”.

Australian team captain Lleyton Hewitt has questioned the lack of communication between Kyrgios and his United Cup team.

Huge cloud hangs over Kyrgios’ Aus Open prep

– Callum Dick

Adelaide International organisers are yet to reach out to Nick Kyrgios’ camp to gauge whether the Aussie No. 1 expects to be fit to play in week two of the Australian Open lead-in tournament.

Kyrgios is one of the major drawcards for the second week of the Adelaide International but his playing status remains unknown after the world No. 22’s final-hour withdrawal from Australia’s United Cup team due to an ankle injury.

The Aussie ace is due to suit-up for a January 9 start to the Adelaide International 2, however tournament director Alistair MacDonald told News Corp he was still unsure whether Kyrgios would be fit to play and had not heard from his team since the injury revelation.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios came under fire for his late withdrawal from the United Cup.

“Not yet. We’ll probably give him a bit of air time since he’s made the decision not to play the United Cup, and knowing we want to give him every opportunity to play Adelaide I think we’ll let it sit for a bit and touch base with him mid-next week and see how he’s travelling — hopefully by then he’ll have a decision either way,” MacDonald said on Friday.

No Kyrgios would be a major blow not only for the tournament but his own Australian Open preparations, given the Adelaide International is the last competitive opportunity to prepare before the first grand slam of 2023, which begins on January 16.

Kyrgios came under fire for his late withdrawal from the United Cup, which caught his teammates and Australian captains Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur off guard.

No Nick Kyrgios would be a major blow not only for the tournament but his own Australian Open preparations.

However, MacDonald said the ball was firmly in Kyrgios’ court as to whether he plays in Adelaide and there would be no “pressure” on the 27-year-old to make a decision before he is ready.

“We want to give him the best chance to prepare for the Australian Open. If Adelaide is that pathway that’s fantastic and if it can’t be this year, that’s OK too,” he said.

“We just want to make sure we give him the best chance possible to play. We haven’t put any pressure on him, we’re focusing on qualifying starting (Saturday) and Round 1 on Sunday.

“I know Nick wants to play here. Anytime a player pulls out of anything, normally in my experience it’s just one of those things that happens in elite sport.

“Nick is a drawcard, he’s an entertainer and we would love to see him here, but at the same time we have 16 of the top-20 women coming here in week two and a really strong men’s field still (even without Kyrgios).”

Adelaide International 1, featuring the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and reigning champion and hometown hero Thanasi Kokkinakis, begins on New Year’s Day.