Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander revealed in an interview with Eurosport that Lleyton Hewitt told him “all the kids in Australia are doing basically what Nick Kyrgios does.”
Kyrgios, a six-time ATP champion, has proven to be able to compete well against the best players and beat them, but it’s no secret that he sometimes struggles to control himself on court. Wilander, who works as a tennis pundit and analyst for Eurosport, thinks it’s “appalling” that the boys in Australia are copying Kyrgios’ style and technique.
Wilander made his comments while discussing the recent outbursts and crises of players on the ATP Tour. Wilander was not in favor of the “light punishment” that Alexander Zverev received, stating that the German deserved a suspension for his crisis in Acapulco.
“In tennis you learn to behave properly, you learn to sing the things that are close and the things that are inside, you make your own calls, you announce the score,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“It’s a game where you learn a lot about life, education and rules, and these guys take it to a whole other level”
Wilander: The guys in Australia are copying Kyrgios and it’s horrible
“And I know from what Lleyton Hewitt told me that all the kids in Australia are basically doing what Nick Kyrgios is doing.
I’m not saying they throw rackets and whatever, but they hit the ball like Nick Kyrgios and that’s pretty bad in a way because Nick is so talented, but he doesn’t use his feet at all on any of his shots.
He just hits her with his arm. And they look up to these guys. So I think she’s awful,” Wilander added. “I really think she’s awful. I think breaking a racket on a tennis court is the lowest for me, because most kids can’t afford to buy tennis rackets.
I think it’s wrong. I think it’s completely wrong. That’s why I asked: I think Zverev needs to not be on probation, he needs to be taken off the Tour for a month, two months, maybe it’s the first Grand Slam, maybe it’s the first ATP Masters 1000 but something that hurts him instead of being able to not do the same thing again and then I’m fine. Has no sense. Life doesn’t work like that”
–
