Kyrgios walks back on Australian Open cancellation remarks: "I don't think it's morally right to accept players that are not vaccinated"

Everybody who knows tennis knows that Nick Kyrgios is not afraid to speak his mind yet the Australian walked back a remark he made days earlier about the Australian Open.

Nick Kyrgios is out of action currently as he is recovering from yet another injury he sustained during the summer. The Australian should be back for the Australian Open but a remark he made a few days ago about the event caused a stir on social media. Speaking in his podcast Kyrgios said:

“I don’t think the Aus Open should go ahead, just for the people in Melbourne – you’ve got to send a message. How long did (Melbourne) do in lockdown? 275 days or something? I’m double-vaxxed but I just don’t think it’s right to force anyone, yet an athlete, (and say) you can’t come here and play because you’re not vaccinated."

The comments created a media buzz on social media prompting Kyrgios to walk back his comments about the event. He explained that the comment was taken out of context saying:

"First of all I want to clear up a few things. As you know I've started a new podcast with two of my childhood friends and some things have been taken out of context regarding the Australian Open. So I just want to share this video to clear it up and have a bit of clarity. Tennis has been such a big part of my life for 15 years-plus and I've given myself a lot of sacrifice every single day to this sport and I love it."

He continued:

"To say that I'd want the Australian Open cancelled, I think that was the sentence that got taken out of context. It's more so for the people of Melbourne, who have gone through hell and back. I think it's been 275 days, nearly 300 days of lockdown and your freedom has been taken away from you. I don't think it's morally right to accept players from overseas that are not vaccinated to come into our country and waltz around Melbourne free-will to play the Australian Open."