Speaking with British media personality Piers Morgan, Nick Kyrgios talked about being the most-fined player in ATP history. With a long rap sheet dating back nearly a decade, he has coughed up over half a million US dollars in penalties. The maverick Australian jokingly called the amount a donation, saying that makes him the most ‘generous’ player.
Kyrgios has forged a reputation for being the ‘bad boy’ of tennis. He has not done justice to his immense talent because of his discipline and fitness issues. Since copping his first fine in 2015, he has been a frequent offender, last being penalised at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. He has paid a whopping £452,000 ($567,836 at the time of writing) as cumulative fines.
In the interview, Morgan asked Kyrgios if he was proud of being the most heavily-fined player ever. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist cheekily said it all goes to charity. Hence, he could technically be the most philanthropic player of all time.
“It goes to charity, so on the flip side I could be the most generous ATP player ever.”
Morgan burst into laughter following Kyrgios’ response as the latter could not help but crack a smile.
Kyrgios played only one fixture in 2023 in June. Placed as high as World No.13 once, he is currently unranked because of inactivity. Even during such a long layoff, he continued to court controversy. He recently opened up an OnlyFans account and despite backlash, used the platform to quash rumours of a return at the 2024 Australian Open. Kyrgios also made his commentary debut during this break and marked the moment with an NSFW slip-up.
Nick Kyrgios rap sheet: The most notable fines he has faced
Nick Kyrgios announced himself to the world at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. As a teenage debutante on a wildcard entry, he advanced to the quarter-finals, earning the biggest win of his young career en route. He beat the then-World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round before falling to eighth seed Milos Raonic in the quarters. Soon after, he would also face the first of many fines, which currently stand at a total of $567,836.
At the 2015 Australian Open, he was hit with a $4,926 fine for racket abuse and audible obscenities. One of his most infamous outbursts happened at the 2015 Rogers Cup. During his second-round clash against Stan Wawrinka, he insulted the Swiss veteran and said obscene things about his girlfriend (via SI).
Kyrgios faced a 28-day ban and had to pay a $25,000 penalty. At the 2016 Shanghai Masters, he was hit with a fine of over $50,000 for allegedly tanking a match and for abusing a fan.
He returned at the 2017 Shanghai Masters, only to be sanctioned $31,085 for leaving midway through a match in protest of a decision. At the 2019 Cincinnati Masters, the serial offender created history after having to cough up $113,000, then the highest fine ever levied. He clocked five separate unsportsmanlike conduct violations for breaking rackets and abusing the chair umpire multiple times.
The 2022 Wimbledon Championships was his best Grand Slam singles result but it was marred by a series of incidents. His third-round match with Stefanos Tsitsipas turned ugly and words were exchanged as both players were punished, the Aussie having to pay $4000. In the final against Novak Djokovic, he had a fan evicted, claiming she was excessively drunk and was distracting him. The spectator later filed a defamation lawsuit against him.
