Nick Kyrgios’ outburst following his quarter-final loss to Karen Khchanov at the US Open has landed him in a little bit of trouble with officials.
The Wimbledon runner-up has been hit with a $14,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct after destroying two of his rackets just moments after Khachanov sealed a place in his first-ever major semi-final. Kyrgios smashed his first racket on the ground three times before throwing it aside. He then picked up another which he slammed onto the ground.
According to figures provided by Eurosport, the penalty is just under a third of what Kyrgios has been fined during his time at the US Open this year. He has been docked a total of $32,500 for breaching the rules. Although he has earned $473,200 in prize money for playing in both singles and doubles.
The racket-smashing incident prompted criticism from tennis great John McEnroe who said Kyrgios went ‘too far’ during a moment when Khachanov was celebrating his win.
‘That [blow-up] was after the match so it was a little unbecoming,’ McEnroe said on Eurosport.
‘I get he’s frustrated – but this [outburst] is when [Karen] Khachanov is walking in the centre of the court (saying), ‘Thank you very much the eight people that were on my side.
‘So that was going too far – (and) I know something about that.’
Despite his at times controversial behavior, Kyrgios is a formidable force in tennis. Since the start of the grass-court swing, he has won 26 matches which is more than any other player on the ATP Tour. He is projected to rise back into the world’s top 20 next week for the first time since February 2020.
Following his exit from New York, the Australian said during his press conference that he ‘felt like sh**’ and was ‘devastated’ by his loss. He then went on to say he believes that Grand Slam events are the only tournaments that matter and said others are a ‘waste of time.’
“I don’t even really care about any other tournament. I feel like at the Grand Slams, now having success at a Grand Slam, it’s just like no other tournament really matters.” He said.
“It’s like you get better, you get worse, then at a Grand Slam none of it matters. You either win or lose. People don’t really care if you got better on the day or you lost 4 in the fifth or played one of the best matches of the tournament. You lost, so..’
“That’s all people remember at a Grand Slam, whether you win or you lose. I think pretty much every other tournament during the year is a waste of time really. You should just run up and show up at a Grand Slam. That’s what you’re remembered by.”
This season Kyrgios has won 10 Grand Slam matches within the same year for the first time in his career.
