As the summer of tennis looms upon us, there is much excitement on the horizon.
Ahead of us we have Djokovic’s return, a flurry of youth taking over both the ATP and WTA tours and most importantly some Aussie talent shining through.
One of those stars includes the exhilarating Nick Kyrgios.
The 27-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most divisive athletes in world sport due to his mix off-court antics and incredible natural ability with a racquet in hand.
Personally, watching him play is always a thrilling experience and it makes me along with so many others get drawn to the game, whether it be getting bums on seats or sitting down on the couch being glued to the TV.
Like him or not, he is box-office entertainment.
2022 was the year when he finally found himself in a great headspace which propelled him to the best season of his career to date.
A maiden grand slam final at Wimbledon along with a US Open quarter-final appearance and a title in Washington, Kyrgios showed signs that he is more than capable of matching the top players in the world.
Nick Kyrgios (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Unfortunately, consistency has let him down far too often for a player of his caliber.
Before his Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios confessed his love-hate relationship with tennis.
“I don’t know if the situation will change. There are times where I hate this sport, but there are also times when I feel like one of the most competitive people on the face of the earth,” he said.
Tennis is an individual sport. In the Aussie’s case, there are no teammates around in his corner to help pick himself up and get back on track.
It’s his life, sure. He can live it how he chooses and he has every right to go about his business his own way.
However, tennis fans also possess an equal right to demand more from players, especially Australian fans with Kyrgios.
People look up to him as a role model, certainly on the court. Just as they would support a club or nation in a team sport, they are just as invested in individuals who play sports such as tennis representing their country.
Kyrgios is waving the Australian flag on the world stage. It is a world sport at the end of the day.
His performances definitely deserve to be held accountable more often because supporters and pundits truly want to see his potential flourish and be made the most of by the time he hangs up the racquet.
Kyrgios’ tantrums and angry outbursts during play are a part of who he is and it makes him thrive and perform at the highest level to keep engaged, whether it is deemed acceptable or not.
That is all well and good so long as he is able to consistently keep his head in the game, especially in crucial moments, such as the second set of the Wimbledon final where it all unraveled.
People expect much more from him, and so they should. Australians can sympathise with him in the sense that he has felt a weight of pressure and expectation that has haunted him since he announced himself on the tour, where he has admitted this along with his mental health struggles.
“I was having suicidal thoughts and was literally struggling to get out of bed, let alone play in front of millions,” he said.
Especially being an individual sport, the constant pressure to perform and the endless criticism have been too much to bare at times. Despite some of it being his own doing, it is completely understandable.
I think the general public has come to realise that Kyrgios is a respectful and down-to-earth person who has done a lot of work behind the scenes such as spreading awareness for mental health and his amazing charity work.
Fans are only frustrated because they know full well of his endless potential.
Shockingly, he is the only player in the top 100 who does not have a full-time coach. In fact, he has never had one in his professional career.
A lack of focus regarding fitness and training has been a problem throughout his career which has led to multiple injuries. The latest one was yesterday when he was forced to pull out of the inaugural United Cup, just as he missed the whole Australian pre-season at the start of 2022.
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
He has the power, the skill, the flair, the trickery, along with arguably the best serve and forehand in the game which makes the Australian an all-round genius.
Nick may look at his bank account and head off to his home in the Bahamas while treating tennis as a chore instead of a passion, but he has a duty of responsibility to take his once in a generational talent seriously for Australians and above all the game itself.
Time and time again we have ourselves thinking that Kyrgios has turned a corner.
Will 2023 be the year when he reaches the pinnacle of the sport?
Let The One King Rule
Guest
... and why does anyone else follow Kyrgios? The bloke had endorsements with multiple l brands, none of them being Australian. He has enough of an established global fanbase to earn his way off, and also has $11 million in prize money. He does not need, and has made it abundantly clear that he does not care for, the support of Australians. They do not contribute anything of significance to his value as a sporting star. Your Olympics comparison is not apt because the WHOLE point of the Olympics is the representation of country. Countries also have a say in who competes, hence the concept of the Olympic team, and they also fund the athletes, which makes the cost of attending the competition manageable. Tennis is not the same. Australia has no say whatsoever in whether Kyrgios competes or not, nor do they contribute to him going. His Australian fans do not pay his wage. The idea that he should be beholden to them just because they want to find significance through his accomplishments is ridiculous.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Why do Australians follow Nick Kyrgios? Because he’s Australian. Whether it be an individual or team sport he is representing the country on the world stage. A So for individual sports at the Olympics the athletes who are Australian aren’t representing Australia?
Let The One King Rule
Guest
Club players have a 'duty to care' because they are being employed by the club. That is what they are receiving their wages for. The average fan has an expectation of that said player because they directly contribute to the welfare of the club, and hence, the player's wages. Tennis is an individual game. Kyrgios is paid in prize money for individual victories. He is not paid to represent Australia. He has no 'duty' to care about the nation whatsoever.
Simoc
Roar Rookie
He says choose. Most people apart from you understand that. Most Americans were embarrassed by McEnroes tactics but he was cheating, where as Kyrgios just throws tantrums regularly. He has always had the playing ability to beat the best players, but he won't win a major, except by default, because it takes two weeks and winning seven consecutive games. You generally need a bit of luck along the way as well. I don't watch him now but Kyrgios is a great player. Many if not all the top players don't represent their country on a regular basis. Tennis is an individual sport. The Davis Cup is only popular when we win it.
Ad-O
Guest
The fact athletes are looked on as role models and nobody knows the name of the guy that won last year's Nobel Prize in Physics or Medecine is half the world's problem. If athletes dont want to be role models, I dont blame them. I don't want an overpaid man-child who's only claim to fame is hittting a ball being role models either.
Let The One King Rule
Guest
That is hardly a matter of his choosing, or one from which he derives any real benefit. Given his interviews, it is apparent that it is actually something he finds irritating and undesirable, but as sporting convention is to list the nationality of whoever is playing regardless, he has no real choice in the matter. As for Australians feeling embarrassed by Kyrgios - to me that is more of a problem with us than a problem with him. You are entitled to put 50% of your maximum effort into your work, to decide that it is a secondary priority to your family or your hobbies, and to do the minimum required to be deemed competent at it. If you do not perform to a sufficient standard, your work may fire you, of course, but this standard is generally far below the level at which you could perform if you tried your hardest. Why, then, is our expectation that sporting stars should be different, that they owe it to themselves, or even more idiotically, that they owe it to us, to be the very best they can be? The fact that Kyrgios is still qualifying for, and even winning tournaments, is proof that he is performing to the minimum standard required to be a professional tennis player. What business is it of yours if he decides that that's good enough, and he simply doesn't care about leaving a legacy any greater than 'made a lot of money'? If you don't like Kyrgios, simply don't watch him. I don't. His personality and play style are both unappealing to me, but there are plenty of people I find unappealing in both public and private life.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
I’m with you in that you don’t need to feel any affinity towards him. It’s more the Australian tennis fans and the Kyrgios fans who look up to him on the court.
G
Guest
If i support someone then of couse i like to see them do well. But I don't support him. I am Australian, he is Australian. But he is an idiot. I feel no affinity to him whatsoever. He is making making a living doing what he is good at. Being in the top 100 of anything in the world is still success. If that is good enough for him it is good enough for me. Whether he enjoys it or not is probably a live question given he seems to complain every time he talks.
sheek
Roar Guru
Barb Dwyer, No! Kyrgios’ problem is that he DOESN’T give respect in the first place. So therefore, he doesn’t get it in return. I’m willing to accept you missed saying “he treats many with ‘no’ respect”. Missing that odd word sometimes can be a killer!
sheek
Roar Guru
Okay, it seems my original serve on Kyrgios sent the mods into meltdown, so here's a "nicer" version: Kyrgios is not a nice person, & the sooner he disappears the better.
Barb Dwyer
Roar Rookie
Bringing kids in and teaching them to throw racquets, abuse officials, sulk, whinge, abuse other players. Nah, I think we're better off without him.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
So if you support a club from any sport and those players weren’t putting in their best effort but just happy to see the money come in, you would be happy? My point is that a lot of people especially kids look up to Kyrgios and he is their favourite player. That 1 player should be looked at the same way as a club in any sport. He is representing Australia. He might not care, but he has a duty to care.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Why should they assess their own priorities looking up to a tennis player? Kyrgios has no doubt brought a lot of kids into the sport which is obviously great for the game and Australian tennis, but that’s even more reason why people should be holding him accountable more often
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
The saddest part about it is that he prefers his antics being in the spotlight rather than his actual game
Barb Dwyer
Roar Rookie
People don't like him because he treats many with respect but sulks when he doesn't get it.
Barb Dwyer
Roar Rookie
He repeatedly talks down to opponents, officials, the media and sundry and has a long, continuous record of treating them with disrespect. He then demands to be treated with respect (when people are just making him accountable for his childlike behaviour) and then sulks when he is not. A fine example of stupidity. (And that handing over a tennis racquet to obviously buy off a child was truly abysmal. Only to have the media call it 'classy')
G
Guest
He can try as hard or as little as he likes - just like anyone else in work or life. He gets paid well enough to make that decision on his own. No matter how good he is I won't support him because he is rude, arrogant and acts like a spoilt toddler.
Mitcher
Guest
‘However, tennis fans also possess an equal right to demand more from players, especially Australian fans with Kyrgios.’ Honestly they don’t. He’s a sole trader plying his trade on the most commercial of endeavours. Anyone who holds a tennis player up as a role model should assess their own priorities. That people actually get up in arms about a ‘celebrities’ behaviour is the real problem. Not some loose canon sportsman. CUE THE OUTRAAAGGGEEE!!!
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
He is competing as Nick Kyrgios but you can’t say that he’s not representing Australia though… When you have your flag next to your name on the scoreboard then he is representing Australia. Why do people often say that they are embarrassed of Kyrgios’ antics? Because those same people are Australians and they feel an attachment in a sense to Nick in that way
Let The One King Rule
Guest
"However, tennis fans also possess an equal right to demand more from players, especially Australian fans with Kyrgios." ...why? We contribute more directly to the wages of actors, who we certainly have made into role models as well, but we don't seem to have the same feeling of ownership of them. The idea that a man or woman should feel obligated to represent everyone who lives in the same part of the world as them in a purely INDIVIDUAL competition, and should be answerable to the same said people, is patently idiotic. He hasn't chosen to 'represent Australia', he's chosen to represent himself.