A fuming Nick Kyrgios has taken to social media to vent about being shown ‘no respect at all’ after the controversial star was overlooked for the John Newcombe Medal in favour of Ash Barty.
Kyrgios shared a graphic comparing the two players’ achievements in 2022 on his Instagram story, crudely captioning the shot: ‘LOL. No respect at all. I don’t give a f**k’.
He followed that up by sharing a post from the ATP Tour that said he and best mate Thanasi Kokkinakis had been awarded as the ‘Fans’ Favourite’ doubles team, simply writing ‘Obviously, lol’.
It’s just the latest in years worth of foul-mouthed rants from Kyrgios that often appear delusional, at best.
Nick Kyrgios, pictured with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi, has launched into a foul-mouthed rant on social media towards Tennis Australia, accusing them of showing him ‘no respect at all’ after he was overlooked for the John Newcombe Medal
A screenshot of Kyrgios’ Instagram story shows he ‘doesn’t give a f**k’ about not winning the Newcombe Medal, but still slams the lack of respect shown towards him
Retired superstar Ash Barty was announced as the John Newcombe Medal winner in a glitzy ceremony at the Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday night – a decision Kyrgios is clearly not happy about
In this case, one of the statistics he pointed to as to why he should have won over Barty is glaringly obvious.
The image, from tennis fan site Sportskeeda, showed Barty with three titles and Kyrgios with four (including both doubles and singles), and then curiously said both had won a Grand Slam each.
Except Kyrgios, despite an impressive giant-killing run in a Wimbledon draw missing several key players, did in fact not win a Slam.
The post had a very small asterisk next to it, then down the corner of the image had *one final – a decidedly disingenuous piece of evidence to use to accuse Tennis Australia of a ‘lack of respect’.
Kyrgios shared this graphic on his social media page that shows his year compared to Barty – except it shows him winning a Grand Slam…with only a small asterisk down the bottom pointing out he was only runner-up
Nick Kyrgios accused a women, falsely, of having ‘about 700 drinks’ and distracted him during the Wimbledon final, which he lost
However, Kyrgios has clearly played a lot more tennis than Barty this year, who retired, to the shock of world tennis, despite being the world’s number one female player.
The 27-year-old won three doubles titles and one singles (Citi Open in Washington) this year, for a total of 61 wins across the two formats and just over $5million in prizemoney.
Not a bad return – but despite only playing 11 matches for 2022, Barty, 26, still came very close to the figure.
The humble, fiercely competitive and much-loved Aussie earned more than $3.2million thanks to winning both the single and doubles Adelaide International titles as well as, of course, the Australian Open.
Ash Barty chokes back tears as she holds the Australian Open trophy aloft in January this year. She retired from the sport just weeks later
It’s also worth pointing out Kyrgios’ rant is exactly the reason why he wasn’t awarded the prestigious John Newcombe Medal in the first place.
The medal is named after one of Australian tennis’ most-loved figures, who won 26 Grand Slam titles before a glorious coaching career: which includes many year’s as the nation’s Davis Cup captain.
The award doesn’t just recognise total wins, it is given annually to ‘Australia’s most outstanding elite tennis player and ambassador to the sport‘.
Given Kyrgios spent as much of his time on the tennis court smashing racquets than he did smashing volleys, and then launched into a foul-mouthed social media tirade, it’s easy to see why Barty has been given the nod.
Nick Kyrgios smashes a racquet over his leg during his doubles match in November. The controversial 27-year-old has made a name for himself with his poor behaviour on the court
Her work encouraging Indigenous kids in particular to play the game, despite being retired, is to be particularly admired, and she awarded her mentor Evonne Goolagong-Cawley the ‘Spirit of Tennis’ award on Monday night – much to the delight of both proud Indigenous women.
The Australian tennis great was recognised for her work with the Evonne Goolagong Foundation, which works to improve health and educational outcomes for young Indigenous people, using tennis as a vehicle.
Barty is adored more than any other individual athlete in Australian sport, and Goolagong-Cawley said what she did off the court was the main reason she won the prestigious award.
Proud Indigenous women Ash Barty (right) and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley (left) proudly display their awards from the John Newcombe Medal evening on Monday
‘She wasn’t just a great tennis player, but a great person on and off the court and I love her forever,’ she said.
For her part, Barty is keen to continue giving back to the game she loves so much, despite being retired.
‘The way that she’s (Goolagong-Cawley) impacted the game in a positive way is certainly something that I would love to emulate now that I’m finished up and have that opportunity to give back to the sport again,’ she said at the awards evening on Monday.