Outspoken Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has said he will continue to call out his peers over their behaviour during the pandemic should they not take any responsibility for their actions.
The former top 20 player has been one of the most vocal critics of some of the top names in men’s tennis. Especially concerning the controversy-stricken Adria Tour which was cancelled following an outbreak of COVID-19 during its Croatian leg. At the event organisers were criticised for a lack of social distancing whilst players attended parties. Something that Kyrgios had previously labelled as ‘selfish’ during a video he published announcing his withdrawal from the US Open. The Australian has previously hit out at both Borna Coric and Dominic Thiem for defending the event.
Kyrgios has also blasted Alexander Zverev after the German was spotted attending a party in France despite previously saying that he would be going into self-isolation. The 25-year-old called the world No.7 ‘selfish’ and even entered into an argument with Boris Becker over the incident.
It has been a fairly eventful past few months for Kyrgios, who hasn’t played a match on the Tour since February. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he says that he isn’t afraid to keep speaking out if he feels he needs to.
“I’m just trying to hold people accountable for their actions. You can’t compare what someone does off the court to on the court,” said Kyrgios.
“When I see some people making mistakes, I’m not going to cintitally bring it up, but if they defend it and continually make the same mistakes, especially in a global pandemic, I’m going to say something about it.
“I’m not saying it just to bring some attention to myself, I’m genuinely trying top pull people in line who need to be pulled in to line. We have to work as a team otherwise it’s going to be ongoing.
“Sport is not going to be the same. I don’t want to live with restrictions. I want things to go back to normal.”
The world No.40 made the comments on the same day he pledged to provide programming support to a new tennis center in Gungahlin, Canberra where he is based. Kyrgios’ NK Foundation plans to provide and fund free tennis coaching clinics at the facility.
Confirming that he will not be travelling to Europe this year due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyrgios hasn’t outlined as to when he will return to action. Although he is hopeful of playing at the Australian Open next January. A tournament he hasn’t missed since making his debut back in 2013.
“I miss going out there and playing but I want to do it in the right circumstances. I want to play in front of a crowd, I want to be an entertainer,” he said.
“It’s so hard to make a definitive decision because things can just balloon out of control in a week. Even Ash Barty, she’s a champion of the French Open and she didn’t feel entirely comfortable going there.
“Nothing would make me happier than to go and play in the Australian Open again. But at this stage I don’t think even the directors are comfortable with what’s going on. Hopefully, fingers crossed it goes ahead.”
Kyrgios has been ranked as high as 13th in the world and has won six ATP titles.
