Nick Kyrgios walks into the Wimbledon quarter finals tomorrow night with a fresh pair of kicks, a number of fines, and a heavy load of polarised public opinion. While his talent is undisputed, his performance on court has become a tennis Rorschach test: what some interpret as heroic is seen by others as disrespectful.
Can one man be both? He certainly thinks so.
“I’m here in a Wimbledon quarter-final,” Kyrgios said following his five-set defeat of Brandon Nakashima that saw him progress to the quarter-finals. “And I just know there are so many people who are so upset. That’s a good feeling.”
David Rowe, emeritus professor of cultural research at Western Sydney University, writes regularly on sports and media culture and says that regardless of whether you are a Kyrgios fan or not, audiences are enraptured by him: “He is, kilo for kilo, the most newsworthy tennis player, male or female, in the world, so there is something that attracts us to him. It includes the tennis loving audience and the wider audience. He’s made that jump to that celebrity level.”
Rowe calls Kyrgios an “anti-hero” — someone we may not necessarily like but are nonetheless fascinated by. “People can’t look away.”
TV ratings tell a similar story. His “Special K” performance with doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Australian Open earlier this year racked up strong figures.
Roger Rasheed, former coach of hothead predecessor Lleyton Hewitt, explained that the performative nature of sport is part and parcel to the game. “We watch sport for the characters of the game, the explosive ability of players,” he said. “We want them to express themselves. It’s the best form of reality TV you can watch. Sport would otherwise be very dull. ”
No stranger to a player with a performative approach, Rasheed explains that diversity in sporting personality among players illustrates how different athletes approach the game: “Some players see it just as a tennis court, others see it as a creative landscape. There’s theatre to that.”
Provided it is accompanied by “respect for the game, respect for the history of the game, and respect for people that are involved in the umbrella of the game”, Rasheed sees personality as an edge to be reckoned with on court.
Kyrgios was quiet in his last game. How he performs in his Wednesday night quarter-final remains to be seen. Either way, he will have an attentive audience.
He is a good role model for this generation of entertainers masquerading as sporting greats. This fits with the sporting codes who thrive one the non sporting behaviour in their sport. It generates publicity that is the goal.
A proper Tennis , Football sporting code would ban these individuals [and immediately the tone would change] – and reward the actual well mannered players of the sport . No wonder there are abnormal behaviours such as shooting, assaults, rapes etc this is the legacy of the sporting codes on the upcoming impressionable kids – It is this behaviour that sport teaches the young.
So What has the Tennis Association delivered for Tennis – swearing and tantrums , and when Covid regulations were in place they were an accomplice on how to circumvent the laws and regulations that applied to most Australians.
Replace “sport” with “politics” and you may actually have a point.
Or ‘Money’
To be fair, Kyrgios hasn’t really done anything new. Agassi had the argument with Wimbledon officials over coloured clothing years ago.
John Mc Enroe was so well behaved, he had the nickname “Superbrat”. This stuff has been going on for years.
The commentators last night were literally drooling with the thought that something would happen.
But it’s Tennis, a boring game, where if your lucky, someone throws a tantrum.
I don’t recall McEnroe spitting at spectators. Disgusting behaviour in any sport.
…turns out today you are right, another abuser in sport…endless…
Is this a serious place of comment –
I have no trouble whatsoever looking away. I prefer not to look at him at all. The SMH has been on a rehabilitate Kyrgios kick. He owes us nothing. I rather disagree. No doubt he benefited from our tennis programs, so he owes us at least to show a bit of dignity. I consider his umpire abuse, line umpre abuse and the like simple cheating and the quicker that give him a dose of the McEnroe cure, ie you are disqualified, the better. It certainly cured McEnroe. It is always interesting to see how many antics are about when the player is winning easily.
Agree. His personal behavior needs to be brought into line. The abuse of officials is bad enough but the spitting…..
I stopped watching him years ago.
It’s a shame the powers that be can’t or won’t pull him into line.
Same with all the grunters and screamers. Totally spoil the game.
I go back to the days of Hoad, Laver and Rosewall – I’ve heard/seen the greats, ornaments to the game, putting back into a game that served them so well – I don’t have to watch this crap.
The best tennis player to come out of Australia since Laver and the establishment have treated him so badly. He was snubbed for the Olympics when he was the best in the country because he rebelled against authority and he has had the flair. the panache and the courage to keep going. I am so pleased he has. Every interview he is baited by journos and others who have no idea about playing professional sport at that level. Half his outburst are due to line judges, who should be put out to pasture
https://www.sporttechie.com/australian-open-trades-judges-for-automated-line-calls/
People who watch professional sport should leave the players to get on with what they do instead of attacking them in the hope they can judge them. I ALSO go back to the days of Hoad, Laver and Rosewall. The world has changed since then.
It’s changed all right. Once upon a time ‘sport’ was about the sport – now it’s the spectacle (returns/profits).
I’ll go to OPSM for mine.
Who is this alleged Australian . . . and how much damage be allowed before opponents multiply; income streams seek alternatives?
Hmmm, “The best tennis player to come out of Australia since Laver”, do you think that may be a bit of a stretch?
Consider some of our male tennis players since then such as Newcombe, Rosewall, Cash, Rafter, Philipoussis and Hewitt. That’s not to mention several of our women as well, such as Stosur and of course Ash. Alex “The Demon” Di Minaur is our current rising star, and cut from a completely different cloth than Nick in terms of commitment, demeanour, temperament and manners (even if he may not possess the same natural ability).
Where you may have a point with Nick is that he may have reached comparable levels had he displayed similar commitment as the others. He does sometimes provide a taster as to what is possible with him (such as the current Wimbledon tournament).
The best comparison with Nick to our other recent tennis players is with his “mate” Bernard Tomic. At 27 years old at least he has time to partially resurrect his career (notwithstanding the many years he has already squandered) lest he risks wasting his entire career as did Bernie.