Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has a strained relationship with fellow ATP player Stan Wawrinka, but the Aussie revealed he has matured since their most controversial incident which occurred during a match in 2015.
Both men faced off at the 2015 Canadian Open, with Kyrgios getting increasingly frustrated by his opponent's play. The former World No.13 would make a sordid remark regarding Wawrinka's girlfriend at the time, implying she had been with Kyrgios' good friend and fellow player, Thanasi Kokkinakis.
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Kyrgios admits to maturing over time
Wawrinka, who withdrew from the match in the third set due to injury, said at the time: “There is no need for this kind of behavior. I really hope the ATP will take major action against him this time. What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief."
“He was getting a bit lippy with me,” said Kyrgios when asked why he made the comment “Kind of in the heat of the moment, I don’t know, I just said it."
However, the former Wimbledon finalist revealed he has changed since 2015. In an appearance on a recent episode of the Louis Theroux podcast, Kyrgios admitted to being immature at that stage in his life.
"There is a whole story as to why it came out! We were just going back and forth, back and forth," said Kyrgios. "He wasn’t talking s— but he was trying to hit me in the head with a tennis ball and I was like what is this guy’s problem?.
“Which I love, by the way, when someone is doing that to me I’m like okay, I am inside their head. I am right where I want to be. I know they are not focusing on their game. Then it kept boiling over and boiling over and I was 19 and I said it. That’s it. Big deal. You lost the match, see you next match, see you next week.
"We have seen each other since. We have played each other since. I have huge respect for him, hopefully I would say to his face I have grown up since I was 19 years old. But we are all not perfect."
“Which I love, by the way, when someone is doing that to me I’m like okay, I am inside their head. I am right where I want to be. I know they are not focusing on their game. Then it kept boiling over and boiling over and I was 19 and I said it. That’s it. Big deal. You lost the match, see you next match, see you next week.
"We have seen each other since. We have played each other since. I have huge respect for him, hopefully I would say to his face I have grown up since I was 19 years old. But we are all not perfect."
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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