In the latest episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Nick Kyrgios said tennis was a ‘white privileged’ sport. He claimed this, combined with his boisterous personality, meant he faced heavy opposition from the tennis fraternity throughout his career. The Australian blasted the media for adding to his struggles.
Once ranked as high as World No.13, Kyrgios is currently unranked after playing only one match in 2023. Ever since he announced himself with a win over Rafael Nadal in 2014, he has become notorious as the ‘bad boy’ of tennis. With frequent meltdowns on the court and controversial comments off it, he has logged a long list of reprimands. He recently revealed he would not participate in the 2024 Australian Open, and a return remains uncertain.
Kyrgios opened up to globally acclaimed self-help guru, Jay Shetty about feeling alienated in tennis. He said the sport was biased towards white people and, hence, he was at a disadvantage from the beginning. He stated since he was a person of colour with a maverick personality, he had many people standing against him.
“It’s a white privileged sport. So I was behind the eight ball from the get-go, you know. You know, I was coloured, big personality, and wore emotion on my sleeve. So I was always trying to play against so many more people than just so who was down. Beating the best players in the world is already hard enough. The training every day, the diet, the discipline that was already hard.”
Kyrgios said training and playing at an elite level is a difficult task by itself, but he faced the added struggle of being opposed by ‘millions’ every time he played. He said this is why he is more tired of the sport than a regular player. He said most athletes face only their opponents, but he also had to battle the media.
“But me, it was like I was playing against millions more people every time I went out on the court. And I think that’s why I’m a bit more exhausted than the average tennis player. Now, when someone goes out there, they’re not, they’re just playing against who’s down the other end, but I was playing against the media.”
Nick Kyrgios lambasts media and ‘tennis world’ for hypocrisy
In his chat with the British content creator, Nick Kyrgios criticised the media and fans for being hypocritical. He said they were never satisfied with his performances, regardless of how he plays or what he does. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist claimed he was hounded if he did something controversial but if he behaved well, he was labelled boring.
“Even if I had a flawless match, I was like, Oh, that’s how it should be anyway. But then the minute I did something bad, it was like, Oh, here it is. See, that’s his true colours. I was like, I couldn’t win. I actually couldn’t win. And then if I was well-behaved and disciplined, it was like, Oh, no, it’s boring.”
Kyrgios said this two-faced nature of the media and fans made him feel the tennis fraternity has not fully accepted him. He admitted his frustration with this and said he does not care now about what people think.
“So it’s like, okay, which one do you want? And that’s how I’ve always felt in the tennis world that they haven’t embraced me. And that’s why I’ve got such a big chip on my shoulder. Now with the tennis world, it’s like, I don’t owe anyone anything anymore. So, that’s been the biggest, it’s just been a whole, like a walking contradiction my entire, entire career.”
While he has often been slammed for his actions and words, his honest and outspoken interviews during this break from tennis have earned Kyrgios many admirers.
