Nick Kyrgios does things his way.
And sometimes the Australian tennis player has to pay the price — especially when he played Wimbledon.
Kyrgios isn’t scheduled to participate in the 2024 men’s tournament.
A wrist injury will keep him off the grass at SW19 — the same problem that already forced him to pull out of the Australian Open and the French Open.
This year he’ll serve as a BBC studio pundit, which has been met with controversy.
Last year, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to common assault for allegedly grabbing his former partner Chiara Passari in January 2021.
“We are in no way condoning his cited previous actions or behaviours, on and off the court, and he is employed to share his views on tennis only,” the BBC said. “He has provided similar services to other major sports broadcasters in recent months.”
In 2022, Kyrgios also courted public controversy, but that was due to a heated fashion debate.
Known around the world for its embrace of almost all white attire, Wimbledon wasn’t fond of Kyrgios embracing his inner Michael Jordan.
“I wore a red Jordan hat and red Jordans (shoes) just walking out there,” Kyrgios said.
“Predominantly, you have to wear all white. I got fined about $16,000 for wearing a red hat and then my red Jordans.”
That’s a small amount compared to the total of fines that Kyrgios has racked up in his career.
He has more than $12 million in prize money, has been ranked as high as No. 13 in the world, and made the Wimbledon men’s final in 2022 against Novak Djokovic.
But the Canberra, Australia native is currently unranked as he battles back from injury and has been fined more than $500,000 for rules violations.
“I do what I want to,” said Kyrgios, when he flaunted his red Air Jordans at Wimbledon.
He was soon forced to backtrack those big words and went to white shoes after initially wearing a pair of his favourites while walking onto the court.
“They look good, though,” he said.
Wimbledon 2024 officially gets underway on July 1, with Marketa Vondrousova and Carlos Alcaraz the defending singles champions.