Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios claims racial abuse from crowd, admits spitting in direction of spectator, in first round win

Nick Kyrgios claimed spectators were racially abusing him during his first round win as he refused to resile from calling a lineswoman a ‘snitch’.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios in action against Paul Jubb during their men's singles tennis match on the second day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Picture: AFP

Tennis “villain” Nick Kyrgios has admitted to deliberately spitting at an abusive spectator during his eventful first round victory at Wimbledon on Tuesday and refused to resile from calling a lineswoman a “snitch” while at the same time claiming to have never disrespected anybody.

In a combative post match press conference a defiant Kyrgios also ripped into his Australian upbringing, saying he had constantly received racial abuse in the country.

Kyrgios, who has Malay and Greek ancestry and was raised in middle class Canberra, said: “I’ve grown up in Australia, so I definitely know what racism is. I feel like it’s a battle, constant battle, coming from that place and dealing with it.”

On Tuesday Kyrgios had asked the umpire to remove spectators who were yelling abuse at him on court three during the tense five set first round match against British wildcard Paul Jubb, which he won in a three hour thriller, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5.

Nick Kyrgios doing Nick Kyrgios things at Wimbledon: spits in the direction of fans heckling him all match, slams a ball into the crowd triggering a warning, and the list goes on. #Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/3BmZYyq2n2

— Off The Deck Sports (@OffTheDeck_) June 28, 2022

Kyrgios later clarified that this latest spectator abuse was not racial in tone but confirmed he had complained to the umpire about what was acceptable for spectators to say, having experienced racist abuse at the recent Stuttgart Open. Stuttgart officials are investigating Kyrgios’ claims that he was called a “little black sheep” by a spectator.

He told the umpire: ”So pure disrespect from a spectator to an athlete is acceptable at Wimbledon? But you don’t accept a hat with two logos? When’s the line? That’s acceptable, racism is acceptable so when does it stop? So where’s the line?

“It’s been happening for years. If they were making racial slurs to him (Jubb) I would say the same thing.”

However in the press conference Kyrgios was questioned about the impact of his own on-court aggression – which included repeated abuse to line judges about their ages and their bad calls, telling one linesman she was a snitch, whingeing to the umpire that she was refusing to call a let, and moaning that the courts were too green and too slow – as well as smashing a ball outside of the court after losing the first set.

Nick Kyrgios accused spectators of racially abusing him. Picture: Getty Images

Britain’s Paul Jubb returns the ball to Australia's Nick Kyrgios during their men’s singles match at Wimbledon. Picture: AFP

“Spectators in general think there’s just no line there anymore. They can just say something and they film it and then they laugh about it. It’s like that could actually hurt someone’s feelings,’’ Kyrgios said, explaining the spectators were calling him “shit”.

But when pressed if he had regretted called one of the lineswomen a “snitch” during the match because it could be hurtful he said: “No. Why? That’s what she did. I didn’t do anything and she went to the umpire and told her something that I didn’t say. That’s called whistleblowing.”

He then added: “The disrespect is all these spectators that come to see a full stadium with Nick Kyrgios and my opponent. She (the lineswoman) found it relevant to go to run to the umpire at 30-love and make it about her. No one was there to see her today. Factually. Well, I’ve never, ever just gone to anyone else’s job and just blatantly spat, disrespected them. I don’t understand why people do that to athletes. Why do they feel the need to do that (and think) that’s acceptable?”

Minutes earlier Kyrgios, 27, had confirmed to the room that he had deliberately spat at one of the troublesome spectators.

“I would not be doing that to someone who was supporting me,’’ he said, adding, “Today as soon as I won the match, I turned to him … I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything. Like, he literally came to the match to literally just, like, not even support anyone really. It was more just to, like, stir up and disrespect. That’s fine. But if I give it back to you, then that’s just how it is.”

Kyrgios explained that he, his girlfriend and his family dealt with hate messages on social media, and the social media impact of bad calls during a match had a disproportionate effect on him.

Nick Kyrgios admits he spat in the direction of a spectator who he claimed disrespected him during his first round match at Wimbledon. pic.twitter.com/3Jfyu2q7Kc

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 28, 2022

“I just know factually, like if we go through my Instagram compared to an umpire’s, it’s disgusting some of the things I deal with. Like my brother has alopecia, and they joke about him being a cancer patient. I doubt the umpires are dealing with that.”

In the rowdy match that stretched to nearly three hours, Kyrgios appeared to complain to Jubb, a 22 year old player of Kenyan ancestry from Hull, saying “You can’t f***ing decide to talk to me in the middle of the point when I’m about to do a backhand, It can’t be happening bro”.

Jubb, who was an orphan at age eight and then raised by his grandmother on a council estate, shrugged his shoulders, unclear about the focus of Kyrgios’ complaint.

“I kind of didn’t pay attention to any of that, so yeah, kind of I can’t really remember what he was ranting about,’’ Jubb said afterwards.

Kyrgios said Jubb had played “exceptional tennis” and that as the local wildcard, his opponent had nothing to lose.

Kyrgios, who faces 26th-seeded Serbian Filip Krajinović in round two, said he thought at one point during the “incredibly tough match” he was about to lose.

“I thought I might go down here a bit, (it would) be a tough loss to take, but now I will just rest up,” he said.

Before the game, Kyrgios said he had been prepared to be cast as the villain by the crowd as he was playing a Briton who was under no pressure.

On a positive day two at Wimbledon for the Aussie men, 19th seed Alex de Minaur set up a second round clash with Briton Jack Draper by accounting for Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

Qualifier Jason Kubler stunned British 28th seed Dan Evans 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and will next play unseeded Austrian Dennis Novak, while Jordan Thompson faces fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after accounting for Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. The lone Australian male to fall last night was Alexei Popyrin, who was beaten in a five-set thriller by rising French star Hugo Gaston (6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6, 6-3).