Nick Kyrgios used to be the villain of tennis, and while it initially motivated him, it became rather tiresome after a while.
Humans are very complex creatures, and while most of us have a spiteful side, the truth is that support matters more than anything else. Kyrgios was able to see that in his career, which began with many excited about this big talent coming from Down Under.
Rather quickly, his on-court antics soured a good chunk of the tennis fanbase, so he became known as the villain of tennis. There was very little support coming through compared to now, which sees him getting cheered on basically anywhere he goes.
In a surprise interview with Piers Morgan, Kyrgios drew parallels between the two experiences.
You feel like the bad guy in a movie, you feel like the main villain and I love it. When I go out to stadiums around the world now, it’s like people are cheering, people are going crazy, people wanting to see the Kyrgios show. But back in the day, when I used to show up to places, people just used to hate seeing my presence around the courts.
Kyrgios was fueled by spit early on in his career, wanting to spoil everyone’s day by winning the match many people wanted him to lose, but over time, it became very taxing. As he concludes, it’s better to be supported the way he is now.
And they would boo my practices. It was just a riot and something just drove me to, it was just like addictive. So it was a good feeling, but I think being appreciated and being supported, it’s definitely, I think healthier, but the villain was good for a little bit.
Let’s hope he returns to the sport soon so fans can go back to supporting him. It’s not looking promising right now.
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