Kyrgios lashes out at legends of Australian tennis, claiming "they haven't always been supportive"

Saturday, 09 July 2022 at 07:00

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios will be flying the national flag when he competes for his maiden Grand Slam title on Sunday, but the Canberra native says that the Aussie greats of tennis have not been very supportive during his incredible run.

In his pre-final press conference, Nick Kyrgios was asked how he would feel about joining a long list of tennis greats from Down Under to have won the grass-court Slam.

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The 27-year-old hit back, stating that the greats of Australian tennis haven't been very nice or supportive of him, even during his run to the Wimbledon final this fortnight. He added that he believes himself to be the complete opposite when compatriots are playing, referencing how happy he was for Ashleigh Barty making the final at her home Major.

"Think, you know, as for the greats of Australian tennis, they haven't always been the nicest to me personally and they haven't always been supportive," revealed Kyrgios. "And they haven't been supportive this two weeks. So it's hard for me to kind of read things that they say about me. For instance, when I saw Ash Barty in the final of Australia, I was nothing but happy and I would never say a bad word about an Australian making a final like, that's just me."

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Kyrgios revealed that the only tennis great from Australia who has been supportive of him is Lleyton Hewitt, who is also the Davis Cup captain for the country.

"And the kind of only great that's ever been supportive of me the whole time has been Lleyton Hewitt, he knows he's a Davis Cup captain and he kind of knows that I kind of do my own thing," said Kyrgios. "I'm definitely the outcast of the Australian players. He knows to kind of keep his distance and just let me do me and he just sends me a message here or there, keep going."

The former World No.13 will take on Novak Djokovic for a chance to win his maiden Grand Slam singles title. The Serbian defeated home favorite Cameron Norrie in four sets to reach his eighth Wimbledon final.

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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