Twenty-year-old Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has copped an onslaught of criticism throughout the Wimbledon tournament this year, particularly after his loss to Richard Gasquet in the fourth round.
Kyrgios has been accused of ‘tanking’ during the second set of his match against Gasquet, and admittedly, while watching I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.
I started making excuses for him in my head (and out loud as I talked to the TV). Maybe he’s injured? Surely he’s hurt himself. But then I realised that I didn’t need to make excuses for him because even if he was ‘tanking’ I could understand it.
Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean that I was glad he wasn’t playing his best tennis, I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat, balling my fists and speaking to the TV. Come on Nick, just breathe and keep playing. Yet, I could empathise with him.
In different jobs I’ve worked in over the years, there have been times when I’ve made mistakes or disagreed with a staff member about something and that disagreement or issue has put me off for the rest of my shift.
Let’s say for example that I’m working in a department store and I forget to check under a customer’s pram as they walk out. Said customer returns 15 minutes later saying, ‘Oh I’m so sorry my three-year-old must have put this Peppa Pig toy in the pram when I wasn’t looking’.
I immediately feel terrible because I’ve made a mistake and I don’t like to do a job that is anything less than perfect, but I feel even worse when my boss walks over and has a go at me in front of the customer and some other staff members.
I want to burst into tears on the spot but I don’t want to feel weak or silly so instead I hold it in and spend the rest of my shift unable to smile at customers and unable to maintain my focus because my emotions are overwhelming me. Some of you might be sitting there thinking, ‘that’s so overdramatic!’ or ‘why let something like that get to you?’.
The truth is that I hate that it gets to me too. I don’t want to react in that way, but I can’t help it. Everyone’s emotions are different and we all react in different ways, and for me, no matter what role I’m working in, I take so much pride in what I do that it hurts when I stuff up or make a mistake.
My point is that Kyrgios is clearly passionate and fiery and he shows his emotions on court. During his match against Gasquet his emotions obviously overwhelmed him and my guess is that he just needed a bit of time to calm down before he could get back into the match.
Yes, it’s unfortunate for the fans supporting him to watch this happen, especially when Australia’s hopes are pinned on him because he’s so damn good and has so much potential.
In a way, I think many Australians are thinking of Nick like they would their naughty child – a parent wants their child to do well and to show that their parenting skills are top notch. They don’t want their child to be ‘that child’, you know, the one who is running around the doctor’s surgery screaming and not listening to a word their parent is saying while the other sick patients are grinding their teeth thinking, ‘why can’t they control their own child?’
I think a part of this is because Australians often feel like underdogs when competing on the world stage so we want so badly to prove that we are a force to be reckoned with. When up and coming athletes make mistakes we become the kind of parents that are unforgiving.
But let’s not be the kind of parents that yell and scream at our children when things get too hard. Let’s instead be the parents that try to show some understanding and support, albeit still showing disappointment when necessary but not letting that get in the way of enabling our children to be who they are in the hopes that in the end they will find their way.
So don’t worry Nick Kyrgios, I’ve got your back. Don’t let the media and the haters get to you, the crowd is oh so fickle. Continue to play with passion, but most importantly continue to love what you do.
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