Nick Kyrgios has claimed he no longer tries as hard to be controversial after receiving a “wild” backlash for his fashion choice on the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon last summer.
With just one singles match to his name in two years, Kyrgios has been forced to spend time away from the sport after suffering knee, foot and wrist injuries, which has propelled him to a new role behind the microphone.
Kyrgios’ last singles game was in August 2023, and although he claims to hold no immediate plans to retire, the former Wimbledon finalist appeared as part of the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2024 Grand Slam.
In an interview on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Kyrgios, aged 29, spoke honestly about being more reserved.
“I’ve spoken my mind a lot and it can sometimes lead me to places where it’s cleanup for other people and I don’t want to make their life hard and I don’t want to cause a scene,” he said.
“It’s too much attention on those things already at the moment. I’ve got too many things that I’ve worked hard for at the moment, it’s just not worth being controversial over, it’s not going to change anything.
“For instance if I wear a hoodie at the BBC, the whole world goes wild. They all expect me to wear a suit, why would I wear a suit? But then at the final, I wore a suit, surprised them all.”
Kyrgios has regularly gone against the mould, and has been fined a number of times for comments against players (Montreal, 2015) or even taken to court over a defamation case because of a remark against a spectator.
His fashion has always been individual, wearing Air Jordan’s out onto the field before a match, or being the only person in a baseball cap and Kyrgios started an OnlyFans page during his time in rehabilitation.
Kyrgios’ relationship with tennis has been similarly fraught, as he explained: “I have a love-hate relationship with tennis. There are days when I love the sport and some days where I dislike it. I feel like my actions have proven that I don’t have the passion for the sport that some other players do.
“I’ve barely played a full schedule for the last eight years of my life, I miss tournaments when I want to. I play basketball, I’d rather play basketball when I’m playing tennis, my fashion is completely different. I have a life completely outside of tennis.
“I genuinely have sacrificed my ranking, have sacrificed money to just not play, because I don’t like the sport.”
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify now