Nick Kyrgios Opens Up About Dark Battle With Depression

Nick Kyrgios, one of tennis’s most temperamental and aggressive stars, has been part of numerous controversies in the past few years. He has also been criticized for his antics on court and has many acts of misdemeanor to his name. 

Nick Kyrgios, who comes from Australia, has opened up about his battle with depression and has admitted to being in a dark and lonely place during his recent battles as he went through the relentless grind and pressure of tennis tours. 

Kyrgios has been part of a number of temperamental and aggressive reactions on courts. These reactions include expletive meltdowns, explosive racquet smashing on the court and other arguments with on-field personnel and the crowd. The ATP even put Kyrgios on probation and asked him to seek professional help for his issues. 

“I don’t think people understand how lonely tennis can be,” Kyrgios told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph magazine.

“You’re out there on the court on your own. You can’t really talk to anyone. You have to figure things out for yourself. I did struggle with that.”

Kyrgios says he always remembers himself as an emotional individual, and does not like spending long periods away from his family home in Canberra. He also mentioned there were times when he was seriously and clinically depressed. 

“I remember waking up in Shanghai one year and it was 4pm and I was still in bed, curtains closed. I didn’t want to see the light of day,” he said.

“I felt like no one wanted to know me as a person, they just wanted to get a hold of me as a tennis player and use me. I didn’t feel like I could trust anyone. It was a lonely, dark place. And things came from that.”

“A lot of people were putting pressure on me, I put a lot of pressure on myself. I just lost joy for the game and I was spiraling out of control,” he added.

“I fell into depression because of the things I thought I had to be.”

The 25-year-old has done some damage control on his falling reputation by assisting fundraising efforts for deadly bushfires in Australia last summer and also adding a voice of reason during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Nothing beats playing in some of the best parts of the world against tough opponents and doing all the work off the court to have success. I’m definitely missing it. But I don’t live and breathe tennis,” he said.

“I love being at home with my family and my girlfriend, and working with my foundation (for underprivileged children) and helping the community. There are plenty of other things I love doing,” he concluded. 

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT-SmkidD4E

Tennis Legend Slams Novak Djokovic for New Players Only Association

While 2020 hasn’t been the best of years for most sports stars, it has been a roller coaster ride for Serbian Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, who has been out of sorts form wise, has been trending in the news and headlines for some atrocious moments on and off the court. 

His most recent adventure was to create a new players only association named the Professional Tennis Players Association or PTPA. The PTPA has been a polarizing topic of discussion for all players, new and old. 

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova recently jumped into this conversation and revealed that she was totally against the formation of a new players association. She even advised Djokovic to use all the extra energy on the field rather than on a players association. 

“He thinks he’s doing the right thing. I don’t agree with it but it’s his choice. It certainly didn’t seem to help his tennis. Purely from a logical point of view, when you are a champion tennis player, when you commit to the sport, your energy goes into that. But starting this association? This is not helpful on any level,” Navratilova said in a conversation with The Irish Times.

Navratilova took the same stance on PTPA that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had taken by refusing to be a part of it. Federer and Nadal had mentioned the need for players to remain united during this crisis. 

“Do that when you stop playing tennis but it’s controversial and not helpful. During Covid, you’re trying to divide us further when we should be trying to bring the game together and trying to figure out how to play tournaments without people getting sick and dying from Covid? Let’s stay with that problem rather than creating one we don’t need,” Navratilova added. 

Despite this criticism, Djokovic has expressed eagerness to include both Nadal and Federer in the association. 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWU16cdU11w

Year of Controversies Continues for Djokovic With US Open Disqualification

Novak Djokovic’s 2020 just couldn’t have been worse. Playing in an empty Arthur Ashe court, Novak got a rush of blood and intentionally hit a line judge in the throat with a ball. The incident marked an end to Djokovic’s 29-match winning streak and also put an end to his hopes for an 18th Grand Slam title. 

Djokovic, who was obviously disappointed with the incident, voiced what he had learned from it a few days down the line. 

“I’m working mentally and emotionally as hard as I am working physically, I’m trying to be the best version of myself on the court and off the court and I understand that I have outbursts and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been,’ Djokovic said 8 days after the incident. 

“I’m going to take this in as profound as possible for me as a big lesson. I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve been comprehending. I’ve been talking to my team. It’s just one of these things that is just unfortunate and happens. You have to move on. It was totally unexpected and very unintended as well, when you hit a ball like that you have a chance to hit somebody that is on the court. The rules are clear. So I accepted it. I had to move on and that’s what I did,” Djokovic further added. 

Djokovic went on to mention that he checked on the lineswoman and was glad to know that she wasn’t seriously injured. While many tennis greats have reacted to the situation, Spanish rival Rafa Nadal has accused the Serb of lacking self control. 

“Sorry for him. He had an opportunity there. But in some way you should not be doing this. It’s very unfortunate, very unlucky situation. But it’s important to have the right self-control on the court, because if not, you can be unlucky,” Nadal said talking about the incident. 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8a0PFleKm4

Novak Djokovic Gets Stick for Weird US Open Celebration

It takes no microscope to see just how everything that Novak Djokovic does these days doesn’t go well with fans and followers. From organizing a tennis tournament without any COVID-19 precautions to defending his role in it, Djokovic hasn’t really been the perfect advert for the game of late. 

World No.1 Djokovic, however, remained unfazed with the criticism as he started his first round US Open match against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia in style. Djokovic beat the world no. 109 with readings of 6-1 6-4 6-1. 

However, the Serbian star then went on to proceed with his usual celebration of thumping his chest and bowing down in front of the crowd. With no one inside the court, Djokovic kind of looked absurd and weird doing his routine celebrations. 

Djokovic had come into the tournament saying he would keep the celebrations alive and didn’t worry about the public backlash it would receive. 

“Look, I’m going to keep on doing it because I just – I don’t know. I think it’s part of the routine,” Djokovic said.

“It’s part of also me paying a tribute and a thanks to the match and to the court and to the occasion.”

We all know the reason behind crowd restrictions in place at the U.S. Open, but does Novak still want his stands to be full of people? Has he heard of a certain pandemic in place currently? 

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytr32bZehEo

Teen Sensation Coco Gauff Drags Roger Federer Into Sexism Controversy

If we had a dollar for every time a female tennis player had to face sexism from fans, we’d be the newest billionaires on the block. Coco Gauff, from USA, has been making quite the sensation due to her teen tennis exploits. 

However, Coco hit the news recently with something other than just her backstroke or rally, and she even pulled Federer in with her. 

Gauff was hosting a live session on TikTok when a user turned the sexism meter at full blast and said, “Bro what do you not understand she plays GIRLS tennis, he plays BOYS tennis, the skill gap is unmeasurable. A pro girl wouldn’t even win boys states,” a user wrote.

But, Gauff was in no mood to take this sudden attack and came up with a strong response of her own. “First things first: even though I am a girl, I don’t play ‘girls’ tennis. I play women’s tennis, I play with grown women. So that’s one thing,” Gauff said.

“As an athlete, I have no problem in people saying they are better than me because their skill level is better than me,” Gauff added. “But if you think you are better than me for the sole reason that you think you’re a boy and I’m a girl… That doesn’t make any sense.” 

While Gauff had made her point clear, she didn’t stop here and went on to include 20 times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer to make her point even clearer than it was. 

“For example – Roger Federer. If Roger Federer says he can beat me, he 100% can say that because of skill level and his actual game is way better than mine,” she said. “But if you say that you can beat me solely because of the fact that I’m a girl, that’s stupid.”

Gauff made rounds by being the first ever 15 year old to make an appearance at Wimbledon 2019. She then went on to defeat idol, Venus Williams, in the first round. 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIObgwv69Xw