Nick Kyrgios applauds Australian women's football team on FIFA World Cup campaign but holds off on the idea of giving them a statue

Nick Kyrgios recently applauded Australia's women's football team on their FIFA World Cup campaign, but he refused to agree with the plan of giving them a statue.

The Matildas became the first Australian football team, male or female, to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-finals after capturing the nation's hearts with a terrific campaign on home soil.

Australia dazzled in a convincing 4-0 victory against Canada in the group stage. The nation was then gripped with excitement during a heart-pounding penalty shootout triumph over France in the quarterfinals, etching their name in the annals of history.

However, their impressive journey reached its conclusion with a semifinal setback against England which they lost 1-3. It was followed by a disheartening 0-2 defeat to Sweden in the bronze medal match.

As a result, Brisbane will physically commemorate the achievements of the Australian national women's football team, with the Queensland Government announcing plans to build a Matildas statue.

Regardless of how fantastic the idea is, it does not appeal to everyone, including Nick Kyrgios. The Australian took to Twitter to express his dissent. While he praised the team's efforts, he believed the "statue for fourth is n*ts."

"Agree. Great effort! Statue for fourth is nuts, but they had us all on the edge of our seats! Next time," Kyrgios wrote.

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Nick Kyrgios hits back at Tracy Austin after American criticizes him over retirement talks

Nick Kyrgios pictured at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Nick Kyrgios is still missing from the ATP tour due to a wrist injury. Despite his absence from the tour, the 28-year-old lashed out at the sport's intense schedule, claiming it may cause him to retire in a few years.

"The sport’s crazy. The schedule is out of control. No f**king chance [I play till I am 33], there’s no way. There's no chance. I'm playing till 33? Insane! I'm not playing till 33. I promise you when I'm gone, you'll never see me again," Nick Kyrgios said in a recent interview.

In view of Kyrgios' comments, two-time Grand Slam winner Tracy Austin slammed the Australian, saying that it was "sad" that despite being a professional player, he is not deeply involved in the sport.

"I kind of find it sad that you're playing a professional sport and you just don't absolutely love it. You don't drink it up. You don't have to feel like it's such a long season. You want to just feel like you're lucky to be out there " she told the Tennis Channel.

The 28-year-old responded to Austin's comments on Twitter, saying that different people play for different reasons and that not everyone enjoys tennis equally.

"Why am I lucky to be out there? I worked and I put myself in that position, there wasn’t any luck involved. Some people play for different things, we aren’t all tennis n*ts, some of us have a little more of an impact than that," Nick Kyrgios wrote.