“Something I’d Never Want Again”: Nick Kyrgios Opens Up on the Hard Tennis Tour

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is quite an (in)famous name in the Tennis world. Be it for his on-court theatrics, or his emotional outbursts, Kyrgios remains in the headlines. Recently, the Australian World No. 92 began a podcast series.

Perhaps in the aptest name possible, the podcast is titled ‘No Boundaries’. Much like his own behavior on the court, Kyrgios promised unfiltered conversations with nothing held back. So far, Nick Kyrgios has been a man of his word.

Nick Kyrgios says the tennis season makes personal lives difficult

In the latest episode of the No Boundaries podcast, Nick Kyrgios opens up about how the tennis tour affected his personal life. Moreover, he reveals how the tour took the biggest toll on his romantic relationships.

Tennis has the longest season across all sports. As a result, it ultimately affected Kyrgios mentally, emotionally, and of course, physically. He admitted how he missed his romantic partner the entire while on tour.

“With my first girlfriend, I was away from her for six months at a time,” Kyrgios said. “When you’re trying to perform at the highest level, you start missing someone like emotionally, physically and it becomes a sexual frustration.” He explains how it even affected his on-court performance, rendering him unable to perform his best.

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Kyrgios provides more of an insight into his on-court emotional outburst, as well. “If you’re not seeing your significant other, it affects you, your work, your mood, everything,” he says.

Kyrgios even talks about how his relationship with his own family turned for the worse. This was owing to just how distant he became from them on the tour. Admitting how everything feels like the worst, Nick said, “-you feel like the world’s against you.”

Kyrgios no longer puts tennis first

It is a secret to no one that Nick Kyrgios was an up-and-coming young star just half a decade ago. He was going toe-to-toe with the best in the business and giving them a run for their money.

Kyrgios, in the podcast, opens up about how he no longer has the same drive or obsession with the sport. Particularly, there was a moment of clarity for Kyrgios, which he reveals. For Kyrgios, losing a close family member to the pandemic changed things for him.

“Losing one of my family members change the way I approached the game. I felt like I didn’t want to give myself to tennis fully after that cuz I felt like tennis was the thing that was taking me away from seeing my loved ones,” Kyrgios revealed in a moment of vulnerability.

Kyrgios regrets having pushed away his family and loved ones because of the stress of traveling the world on tour. “I fell out with people and that’s something I’d never want again,” he said.

The Australian star remains a dynamic presence on and off the court. The insights into his psyche and personal lives that his podcast provides certainly offer a new perspective on his personality.

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