Nick Kyrgios smashed a ball out of the arena and got involved in a disagreement with an umpire during his first-round match at this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
The Australian has carved out a niche as an incredibly controversial figure in the world of tennis. However, he rose to fame through his spectacular run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2014 – at just 19 years old.
Aside from his talent, Kyrgios is well-known for his outspoken nature and tendency to lose his temper.
In 2022, this has again been the case. The ATP world No. 40 has had a few run-ins with judges this year. For instance, at his home Australian Open, Kyrgios had a spat with an umpire over the placement of his towels.
He followed this up a few months later at the Miami Open. This time, he reacted angrily to a judge’s walkie-talkie volume. Additionally, Kyrgios smashed a racquet in frustration as he lost to Jannik Sinner.
Finally, the Aussie had a heated exchange with an umpire after receiving a time violation for taking too long. This occurred a few weeks ago, at the TP 500 Halle Open in Germany. Also, in what is a familiar sight to tennis fans, Kyrgios smashed his racquet after the first set of the same match.
Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for the fiery nature of Nick Kyrgios to end up on full display at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios loses cool in Wimbledon first round
During his match against Britain’s Paul Jubb on Court 3, the Australian star was involved in another incident.
The Brit wildcard entry took the first set 6-3 – during which his opponent kicked off at the match officials.
Sitting down between games, Kyrgios took exception to the officials’ actions. In amongst the crowd noise, BBC audio picked up the Australian criticising a line judge.
“Has one person today come here to see her [the line judge] speak? No,” he fumed. “Why is she doing that? Not one person has come here to watch her do anything. Not one person. Do you know what I mean?
“I know you [the umpire] have fans, but she’s got none. She’s got none.”
After the umpire talks to him, Kyrgios asks, “What did I do?”, before dismissing the official’s comments and branding a line judge a “snitch”.
“She just selfishly walks to you in the middle of the game because she’s a snitch. Like, come on now.”
Before this incident, the Australian had also smashed a ball out of the court in frustration. Let’s hope it didn’t hit anyone’s strawberries and cream.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
