Injured tennis star Nick Kyrgios has returned serve in his ongoing beef with Boris Becker, describing the six-time grand slam winner as “ridiculous” in a social media post.
The pair have traded insults in recent days with Kyrgios claiming in The Athletic that today’s players would “destroy” their counterparts from previous eras.
That earned the ire of Becker who fired back on X, formerly Twitter, posting “Nick makes a lot of noise about tennis lately!?! Why does he speak about a sport he apparently hates?”
The German legend also referenced Kyrgios’ recent move to OnlyFans and said he lacked credibility given his lack of success.
Kyrgios, who will miss next month’s Australian Open due to injury, then hit back with a thinly veiled swipe at Becker’s legal troubles that saw him jailed for hiding assets after declaring for bankruptcy.
The drama has resurfaced with Becker telling Eurosport that Kyrgios should thank former players for being in the position he is today.
“It’s simple, you have to respect the past of our sport, in addition to publicly thanking the former players,” he said.
“You must be grateful that they existed: without them, the tennis circus would not continue to exist, there have never been so many monetary prizes and there has never been as much publicity as there is today.
“Why? For the legends of this sport. All these players made it possible for Nick Kyrgios not to play tennis all year round and that, even so, he can make a living with this sport.”
Kyrgios, 28, saw the comments online and unleashed a furious return on X.
“Bro what? I’ve been one of the FEW PLAYERS that have brought millions more fans to the sport and have made more money for everyone,” he posted.
“NETFLIX…don’t remember seeing Boris on there (the show Break Point).
“(The) guy is ridiculous. I’ve made my career off the court without the help of others.”
Kyrgios played just one professional match this year and will miss his home slam for the second year in a row, with the big-hitting Aussie revealing recently that he’s “tired” and unsure if he wants to keep playing.
World number five Jess Pegula spoke about Kyrgios last week as she prepares for the United Cup which begins later this month.
“I always love watching Nick’s matches, regardless of what’s going on around him,” Pegula said.
“I truly love watching him play because I think he’s a really smart player and obviously super talented and always entertaining to watch so it’s kind of sad.
“I feel like he would really thrive in that atmosphere, so for him to miss the last two years of the United Cup is a bummer for you guys.
“It’s always sad to see someone unable to play because they’re not healthy. That’s never great when it’s not on your terms.
“He can be at the top of the game very easily with how much talent he has, so it’s sad to see him not playing, especially given how well he was playing before he got hurt.”