"I have spent my entire life trying to be something that I'm not" - Nick Kyrgios on finding happiness after letting go of 'classy tennis player' image

Nick Kyrgios has spoken up about finding happiness after many years of trying to fit into the image of a 'classy tennis player'.

Over the years, the 28-year-old has become one of the most controversial figures in contemporary tennis. While his talents and unorthodox style of play have helped him to multiple ATP Tour singles and doubles titles, his on-court demeanor has occasionally seen him provoke both opponents and officials.

For instance, at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the Aussie got under the skin of Stefanos Tsitsipas during the pair's third-round clash. Ultimately, Kyrgios won the match to progress to the next round, but on Netflix's Break Point, Tsitsipas criticized the Aussie.

"He has brought that NBA basketball attitude to tennis - I would describe it as an uneducated approach of playing tennis," Tsitsipas said.

Kyrgios was also defaulted at the 2019 Rome Masters after multiple punishable offenses during his second-round match against Casper Ruud. On that particular occasion, the Aussie had kicked a bottle, hurled a chair onto the court, and also directed abusive language towards a line umpire.

Recently, Kyrgios spoke at length about his on-court demeanor in a candid interaction with prominent British podcaster Jay Shetty.

"The more that I was normal, and put into like well-behaved, a good, classy, not rough round the edges, just a normal tennis player, that was for me going against the grain. I actually have spent my entire life trying to be something that I'm not, which was being a classy tennis player," Kyrgios said in an episode of his talk show Good Trouble (04:20).

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist also said that he started finding happiness when he started to be himself on the tennis court.

"But then when I started to be myself, I was starting to find some happiness,"

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Nick Kyrgios has faced criticism from Rennae Stubbs for agreeing with Andrew Tate

Nick Kyrgios at the 2024 Australian Open

Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams' ex-coach, recently called out Nick Kyrgios for agreeing with Andrew Tate's views on love.

Tate, who has divided opinion with his unconventional takes on feminism and masculinity, recently asked a question to his followers on X (formerly Twitter):

"What is love if not obsession?"

Kyrgios proceeded to retweet Tate's post, while adding his own comment.

"I agree. Speaking facts as usual,"

Stubbs brought up the issue on an episode of Racquet's Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. She criticized Kyrgios for siding with Tate, who got into legal trouble with law and order authorities in Romania. The former kickboxer was arrested on multiple charges, which included links to an organized crime syndicate, violence, and human trafficking.

"Nick's a decent guy.’ And then he does stuff like that, and you're like, ‘What the h*ll, dude?’. This guy [Andrew Tate] is up for like rape and children and assault and trafficking children. Whatever you think, if you think he’s guilty or not guilty, you do not touch this guy. You do not go on the internet and retweet or say anything to this bro, at all".