ATP announces suspension, fine for Nick Kyrgios

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios, photo right, will miss the rest of the season after being suspended by the men’s tour and fined an additional $25,000 yesterday for “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game.”

The ATP announced the sanctions after an investigation into Kyrgios’ conduct during a secondround loss to German qualifier Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters.

Kyrgios gave little effort during the 6-3, 6-1 defeat, even patting a serve over the net and walking off court before his opponent’s serve had crossed back over.

The 21-year-old Australian had already been fined a total of $16,500 for failing to give a full effort, unsportsmanlike conduct and verbal abuse of a spectator.

The ATP said yesterday that, in addition to the extra $25,000 fine, Kyrgios was handed an eightweek suspension lasting through January 15 - a day before the start of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

However, the tour said the suspension will be reduced to three weeks if Kyrgios agrees to enter “a plan of care under the direction of a sports psychologist or an equivalent plan approved by the ATP.” That means he would eligible to return on 7 November.

There are no regular tournaments on the schedule after 7 November. The only event in November is the ATP finals in London from November 13-20. The 12th-ranked Kyrgios has not qualified for the eight-player finals, so he will have to wait until next year in any case to return to the tour.

Kyrgios issued a statement Monday offering another apology for his conduct in Shanghai and saying he will be back in 2017. He did not say whether he would enter the treatment program mandated by the ATP.

“I regret that my year is ending this way and that I will not have a chance to continue chasing the ATP finals,” Kyrgios said. “This was an important goal for me. I do understand and respect the decision by the ATP and I will use this time off to improve on and off the court. I am truly sorry and look forward to returning in 2017.”

Kyrgios’ outburst in Shanghai came only days after he had won his third title of the season in Tokyo.

During the match, Kyrgios was cautioned by the chair umpire about his conduct as a professional and booed and jeered by the crowd. Her responded angrily to the taunt of a fan by shouting, “You want to come here and play?”

In a post-match interview, Kyrgios said he didn’t care about the crowd reaction because he didn’t owe them anything. It was a day after his opening win, when he said he was tired and bored and didn’t really get time to savor his title-winning run in Tokyo over the weekend.

After the loss, Kyrgios posted an apology of sorts on Twitter: “Not good enough today on many levels, I’m better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry #StillAWorkInProgress.”

It was his latest run-in with tennis authorities. Last year, Kyrgios insulted Stan Wawrinka with crude remarks during a match in Montreal. He received $12,500 in fines, as well as a suspended 28day ban and a potential further $25,000 fine if he picked up any other major offenses over the following six months. His probation for that ended in February.