Nick Kyrgios says the moment he decided to just be himself and not try to force himself into being a classy tennis player was the moment he became happier on the court.
Kyrgios, who will be turning 29 in April, drew major attention to himself in his early days on the Tour. On the court, it didn’t take long before Kyrgios beat the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer but it was his behavior that was constantly drawing him media criticism and backlash.
Over the years, Kyrgios has tried numerous times to explain that he is actually a very nice and caring guy off the court but that his emotional on-court outbursts and meltdowns are just a product of him being passionate for winning.
In the latest episode of his podcast “Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios” – which was launched in collaboration with Naomi Osaka’s production company Hana Huma – the Australian tennis star hosted British author and podcaster Jay Shetty. At one point during the conversation, Shetty started to explain how people who have different views or perspectives are usually referred to as “going against the grain.”
“Going against the grain, the more that I was normal and put into like well behaved or a good, classy, not-rough-around-the-edges. Just a normal tennis player that was, for me, going against the grain,” Kyrgios said on Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios.
“So I have spent my entire life trying to be something that I’m not which was trying to be a classy tennis player and carry myself like a true gentleman, which I am but on the court I’m not. So it’s like that was against the grain for me but then when I started just being myself I started finding some happiness.”
