Nick Kyrgios believes that tennis should allow more freedom to players who are different and express themselves differently without being bothered.
Kyrgios believes that he has earned acceptance from the tennis establishment but that took time and came after a lot of pain and fair share of rejection. The Maverick Aussie doesn’t feel that he would change anything about his career and how it developed over the years.
The former Wimbledon runner-up is hoping to offer a different perspective on the game through his new job as a commentator.
“I wish tennis embraced different personalities in a way people did things a bit differently,” Kyrgios said in a video made for the New Royale presentation he was involved with in collaboration with Naomi Osaka’s fashion house Hana Kuma.
“For me, when I first came on the scene, they embraced me more.
“They kind of accepted who I am. The change just happened naturally.
“I think, being rejected for who I was for so long made me rebel even more. I don’t actually regret that because the people I work with, and I’ve met thus far and actually wouldn’t change a thing. But at Wimbledon, I’m not playing at the moment, but I’m coming back. And Naomi’s coming back from starting a family.”
Kyrgios still cherishes his run to the Wimbledon final in 2022 where lost to Djokovic after claiming the first set. The former ATP #12 says that upon him return he would back he would like to team up with Osaka at the SW19.
“Still almost beating the best player in the world but beating 99% of the other players pretty easily. You know, I’m trying to impact commentating and doing so many other cool things.
“That’s just another form of the way I communicate with the world. So, hopefully when I’m back, we will play a bit of mixed doubles. The good thing is they don’t have any say. They just have to deal with it. I just hope they embrace it. That’s all.”
Kyrgios admitted that while he loves being fashion savvy and wearing well-styled clothing, the many pairs of Jordan shoe-line he has received have often been worn out by him on either tennis or basketball courts.
“I still have the red cap somewhere,” Kyrgios added when asked about the iconic red Jordans that landed him in hot water at Wimbledon.
“The thing about Jordans…I’ve had some limited edition Jordans that Nike sent me. This is not a lie, like I’ll wear them for like two weeks and then I’ll play ball in them or actually train in them, and I’ll destroy them.
“It’s true. And my agent right now is shaking his head cause like, ‘Dude, you should put them in a case and never wear them.’ And then they are destroyed, and I end up getting a new pair.
“And that’s not the same thing. So, I probably would have just destroyed those Jordans. I probably would have been playing basketball across the street – a week later. I still got the red hat though.”