Nick Kyrgios has told Jon Wertheim to “shut his mouth” after the prominent tennis commentator fueled rumors about the Australian.
Kyrgios' running feud with world number one Jannik Sinner continues to dominate tennis news ahead of the Australian Open, where Kyrgios was snubbed at a press conference at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Kyrgios, 29, previously said tennis was “cooked” when news of Sinner's limited doping ban first broke.
Former Wimbledon finalist Sinner and former WTA Tour world number one Iga Swiatek have both violated anti-doping rules and received small penalties, leading to the biggest calls for further action. It's raised significantly.
Sinner tested positive for anabolic steroids twice last March, which an investigation determined was unintentional, and was suspended for just one month, but he will take Nick's word for it. He said he did not feel it was necessary.
The running battle has taken many twists and turns with former US Open champion Andy Roddick having repeated altercations with Kyrgios over what the Australian sees as inappropriate support for Sinner.
Former world No. 1 Roddick and Wertheim made scathing comments about Kyrgios' actions. That's what I was talking about on the “Served” podcast released this week.
The podcast included Wertheim's sneaky suggestion that Kyrgios' views on Sinner were personal and revolved around Sinner's current girlfriend, Anna Kalinskaya.
The Russian, who is ranked 14th in the WTA Tour rankings, previously dated Kyrgios.
“This is just a personal vendetta,” Wertheim said of Kyrgios. “There was a woman involved here, and she also happened to be a player. Sinner has been bullied relentlessly for months and has not responded. There's so much going on here, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with legitimate concerns about doping.”
Kyrgios and Kalinskaya broke up in May 2020. At the time, she wrote on Instagram that the two were no longer friends.
He is currently dating influencer Kostin Hazzi.
Kyrgios responded to Wertheim's proposal regarding X.
“I didn't care where the sinners put their firewood,” Kyrgios wrote with a crying-laughing emoji. “I'm in a happy relationship. I don't like people who cheat the system. Roddick – I never thought you were a sheep (laughs).”
And this isn't the first time Kyrgios has addressed the tangles in relationships in X.
The conflict between Sinner and Kyrgios reached a boiling point at the US Open in September, when Kyrgios sparked outrage with posts on social media platforms that spanned two worlds.
Kyrgios responded to X's post, which included an old photo of Kyrgios and Kalinskaya from when they were dating.
he wrote “second serve,” a comment that was widely seen as a form of misogyny towards Sinner.
Kyrgios reacted to Wertheim's comments on X and told the American reporter his thoughts.
“By the way, why is he still working in tennis media? A guy like that is commenting on female tennis players. Shut up lol,” he wrote.
Kyrgios was referring to Wertheim's hot mic comments on Tennis Channel, which disparaged top player Barbora Krejcikova's appearance and led to him being taken off the air.
With the Australian Open starting on Sunday, more drama seems inevitable in the swirling drama.
Mr Roddick also said at the beginning of the podcast that he was disgusted by Mr Kyrgios' public comments.
The outspoken Australian player's attack on young compatriot Cruise Hewitt appeared to have pushed Roddick into crisis.
Kyrgios took aim at Hewitt on Sunday after Leighton's son posted a photo with Sinner after an Australian Open training session.
“I love Cruz but this is wild,” added a “cooked post” with a needle emoji.
He also wrote, “Thought we were boys,” along with some heartbroken emojis.
The incident excited Roddick, 42, who wrote Kyrgios off as a pod hypocrite.
“I decided to fire him because there's this weird thing about him wanting to be liked,” Roddick began. “He's a tennis influencer at this point. He lives for the likes and he lives in the comments section.
“But what I do take issue with is the hypocrisy of him choosing when to pass judgment on others, while still wanting people to understand the context of his comments. It was against Cruz Hewitt, who was training with Sinner. Kyrgios has been the most outspoken critic of Jannik Sinner, who failed a doping test.
“Cruise Hewitt is 16 years old, he's Leighton's son, and he's the toughest player I've ever played in my life. (Cruise) will be playing the No. 1 guy in the world at the Australian Open. It's tough. That's true.
“Imagine a man who is almost 30 years old listening to the comments of a 16-year-old who is (saying) the best player in the world. Even if he thinks (the guilty party) is guilty or innocent, , it's still a moment before you can judge that. It's a big moment and you just post a photo and let this guy type in the comments and say everything about himself (by commenting), “I think we're brothers. It's an important moment that makes you say,
“The defense was that the whole thing was a joke. The lack of awareness to bring the opinions of trolls and the worst tennis fans into a 16-year-old's comments is ridiculous. It's ridiculous.”
