Kyrgios cops fine and ban
Australian accepts latest sanction for tanking in China Awful Aussie’s tennis tantrums
Nick Kyrgios will miss the rest of the tennis season after being suspended by the men’s tour and fined an additional $35,000 for “tanking” a match and insulting fans in the Australian’s latest run-in with tennis authorities.
The ATP said Kyrgios was sanctioned for “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game” following an investigation into his behaviour during a second-round loss to German qualifier Mischa Zverev last week at the Shanghai Masters.
Kyrgios gave little effort during the 6-3, 6-1 defeat, even patting easy serves over the net and turning away before his opponent’s serve had crossed the net.
The 21-year-old Australian had already been fined a total of $23,000 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 $35,000 fine, Kyrgios was handed an eight-week 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 be eligible to return on November 7.
There are no regular tournaments on the schedule after November 7. 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 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 programme 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. He 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.
After the loss, Kyrgios posted an apology of sorts on Twitter: “Not good enough today on many levels,