Tennis Australia Is Investigating A Coach Over Those Kyrgios Fight Claims

He’s divided the tennis world with his controversial on-court antics, laid-back demeanour and criticism of some of the world’s greats, but when it comes to Nick Kyrgios, it’s hard to not be entertained by the proclaimed “bad-boy” of professional tennis. The fact is, Kyrgios can play. He’s got an impressive track record when coming up against the best in the sport in the men’s singles competition, and while a Grand Slam title might have eluded him yet again at the Australian Open, you need only watch his athletic prowess, stamina and hard-hitting shots, to think that this is a man we’re sure to see rise to the top of the ranks. 

But of course, nothing is guaranteed and to achieve such a thing requires focus and determination – at least on Kyrgios’ part. Though Kyrgios might have been out of the men’s singles competition, he is storming ahead in the double’s competition. Alongside doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis, the pair thrashed Croatian’s Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, a pair who happen to be the world’s top-ranked doubles team. Taking out the victory in straight sets 7-6 6-3, the Aussie duo now progress to the third round of the Australian Open doubles tournament. 

The crowd may have been rooting for the Aussies, but it appears when the game finished and the players retreated back to the gym, things escalated rather quickly. Kyrgios was quick to inform the world about what happened following the match. In a tweet punctuated by a number of emojis, he wrote: “Just letting you know after yesterday’s chop fest in doubles my opponents (sic) coach and trainer proceeded to threaten to fight in the players gym…tennis is a soft soft sport @TKokkinakis all because I moved and hit them with a tennis ball.”

Security footage was then leaked which showed the alleged incident involving Kyrgios. The channel 9 tennis commentary team then broadcast the clip and chatted about it. As Mark Philippoussis explained: “In doubles, you’re playing good doubles players with great hands. If you get a short ball, you’re going straight for the guy at the net. And you say sorry – you might not mean it. But you say sorry. But that’s the play, you go straight for him. They’ve got a racquet there for a reason, it’s to protect themselves.”

Now, Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has confirmed the organisation will launch an investigation into the incident. As for Kyrgios, the man might like to stir the pot and ruffle a few feathers, but he now has a match to look forward to. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will play their third-round match today at 4pm against Ecuadorian Gonzalo Escobar and Uruguayan Ariel Behar.