KYRGIOS DELIVERS SERVE TO HIS SPORT
NICK Kyrgios says the culture of tennis has made it difficult for people to accept the success of a “coloured” player such as himself.
Kyrgios is the focus of the first episode of the ABC television series, Reputation Rehab, which questions whether the 25- year- old star will ever be able to shake off his “bad boy” image.
Kyrgios admitted to having a “love- hate” relationship with tennis, which he said was sometimes a “s-- t sport”. He also said the culture of the
sport contributed to people’s view of him.
“It’s supposed to be a nice white gentleman’s sport,” said Kyrgios, the son of a Greek father and Malaysian mother.
“So seeing someone coloured like myself go out there, be different and be successful, it’s not so easy to see at times.”
Kyrgios’ mother, Norlaila, said she was heartbroken by the “negativity” that had followed her son throughout his career. “At the beginning it was dreadful … I wanted to guard him,” she said.
“How do you guard some
one from all that negativity? Some of them were racist, some of them were just terrible.”
Criticised for a perceived bad attitude on the court and accused of tanking, Kyrgios said he was a bad loser.
“I never accept losing, I’m pretty bad at that,” he said.
“I don’t think accepting losing is a good thing but maybe not being so harsh on the players is a good thing.
“I’ve definitely had a bit of a relationship with tennis, it’s a love- hate thing.
“I love what I can get out of the sport. A lot of young kids
look up to me now, and I can give back, but at times tennis, it’s a s-- t sport.
“It’s so frustrating. You have to be incredibly patient and losing sucks, and you lose a lot in tennis but there are times when I love the grind, I love training, I love putting in — but there are times where I hate it.”
Kyrgios said he wasn’t prepared for the attention after his 2014 fourth- round Wimbledon win over Rafael Nadal.
“It all happened so quick for me,” he said. “I wasn’t used to having cameras in my face, being in the spotlight. After
Wimbledon when Nadal everything changed.
“There were people camping outside my house for two weeks when I got back home, following me around when I went to the mall, so I wasn’t really ready for the dramatic changes that I was experiencing.”
Mrs Kyrgios said she hated her son being described as a “bad boy”. “I think you can shake the image but it takes time,” she said. “It takes hard work to try to do good, and one little mistake will put you back many steps.”
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