Nick Kyrgios may not have stepped on the tennis court in the US Open as a player. But the Aussie star captured the attention of fans from around the world. Kyrgios had a good stint as a commentator at the US Open in terms of his technical analysis, but he also made several comments outside the commentary box, to be precise, on social media. Ahead of the tournament, the Aussie expressed his displeasure over the fact that Jannik Sinner was let go without a ban despite failing two dope tests. And, after Sinner won the US Open title, Kyrgios chose to ignore him and rather consoled the runner-up Taylor Fritz on social media. While consoling Fritz was a great gesture from Kyrgios, the fans expected him to congratulate Sinner as well, which he didn’t.

After Fritz lost the US Open final against Sinner, Kyrgios lauded him for his exceptional time at Flushing Meadows, as he wrote on X, “Head up champ 🙏🏽🗣️ what a couple of weeks @Taylor_Fritz97 – should be extremely proud of you.” Soon after this post, a former tennis player Paul McNamee, who won 4 Grand Slam doubles title and one mixed-doubles title, had something to say to Kyrgios.

McNamee put forward his opinion on Kyrgios’ media roles. While the Aussie has been very good with his insights, his dark humor has not been appreciated by everyone. McNamee wrote, “My take on @NickKyrgios media roles..his occasional dark humour can certainly offend, but he’s there for one reason…his high-level insights. The guy has an underrated tennis brain, if anything too astute for his own good because, as a player, I wonder if he over-relies on it?”

In response to the tweet, Kyrgios replied in a confident and somewhat boastful way, as he wrote “I’m good for the game period. On and off the court.” Though, it has been a long time since tennis enthusiasts last watched Kyrgios play. But off the court, some of his remarks on social media, not just about Sinner, but also about his girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya, have failed to impress the fans. For his comment on Kalinskaya, Kyrgios drew flak to the extent that a few fans were ready to boycott the US Open men’s final, as he was commentating on it.

This was not the first time that Nick Kyrgios’ words and actions drew criticism. It happened back at the Wimbledon Championships too.

From Wimbledon Championships to the US Open: Nick Kyrgios draws criticism from fans

During the US Open, Kyrgios’ comment on one of his old pictures with Kalinskaya blew the lid and prompted a backlash from fans. Responding to his old picture with Kalinskaya, the Aussie wrote, “second serve,” which put him in a negative spot. He later deleted the reply, but the backlash continued as his comment was considered very offensive.

Previously, at the Grass Swing, Kyrgios’ defiance of the traditional norms put him under the spotlight as well. At the SW19, the Aussie was commentating for BBC. However, his attire was not traditional at all, as he was spotted donning a massive Stone Island puffer jacket in the London summer during Novak Djokovic’s practice session ahead of his R4 match against Holger Rune. For that, the Aussie faced another backlash from fans for not respecting the dress code while entering the court!

Nick Kyrgios may have changed roles from player to commentator, but he has stayed in the limelight, however not always for the right reasons. Hopefully, we see him back on the court with racquet in hand sooner rather than later.