He was slammed for a series of expletive-ridden rants at Queen’s Club in London just days ago, but Nick Kyrgios isn’t slowing down when it comes to sparking controversy.
The Australian tennis star, 23, has made a name for himself as a ‘tantrum thrower’ over the years, and is regularly caught up in backlash over his on-camera antics.
However, his latest act has been branded “vile” by viewers, after he was accused of making an X-rated gesture with a water bottle on live television.
The star didn’t attempt to hide what he was doing during a final break in his semi-final match loss to Croatian Marin Cilic, as he held the water bottle in front of his legs and shook it repeatedly – before smiling afterwards to someone in the crowd.
It’s not clear if the gesture was intentional, and he is yet to comment publicly on it.
While Kyrgios may not have been aware he was on air at the time, viewers couldn’t miss the moment and taking to Twitter shortly after, one wrote: “Vile display. Clear on court violation (of a water bottle) if ever I saw one.”
Another added: “Nick Kyrgios continues to out-do himself on a tennis court. His lack of maturity is staggering…”
It comes just days after the sports pro remained unapologetic after his foul-mouthed rants towards the the end of his match with Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Thursday.
Kyrgios said he “didn’t care” the BBC, who was broadcasting the match live, had to repeatedly apologise for his bad language during the heated match.
Kyrgios fired 32 aces in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 triumph over Edmund, but as he battled it out on the grass court, he was heard swearing at his player’s box in frustration.
When he was later informed at his post-match press conference that the BBC had to apologise on-air for his language, an unfazed Kyrgios said: “Fine. I don’t care,” the ABC reported.
He then asked a reporter who pressed him on the outburst: “No, do you swear? Yes or no? Yes or no? Do you swear? Do you swear?”
Despite his hot temper through the years, tennis pros agree that Kyrgios is one of the best natural talents Australia has ever seen and that if he learns to control his mental game, he could be one of the greats.
Kyrgios previously pulled out of an opening round at the Shanghai Masters, with many calling for the player to be suspended from the game. He was fined $10,000 for walking off the court during the game and stripped of the $21,085 be was meant to earn in prize money.
Just a year earlier at the same event, Kyrgios was also fined and suspended for abusing a spectator and for purposely throwing a match.