Nick Kyrgios irked by coloured towels – ‘We are professional athletes’
Nick Kyrgios made his return to professional tennis following his extended injury layoff and it didn’t take long for his fiery side to emerge.
The Australian missed the first months of the 2023 season after he underwent surgery on his troublesome knee and his return was further delayed by a foot injury.
However, he finally made his comeback on Tuesday at the Stuttgart Open although it wasn’t a happy one as he lost in straight sets against Wu Yibing from China.
Known for his regular outbursts during matches, it didn’t take Kyrgios too long to get frustrated as during the first set he was upset over the coloured sponsor towels and argued with officials about getting the correct towels.
“It took me three games to get white towels,” he moaned after the match. They soak up the sweat better. I’m the same at every tourney. They all have white ones in the locker room.
“I’m not asking to move mountains. White towels actually take the sweat off my body – we are professional athletes.”
Towels aside, it was a decent outing for Kyrgios who hasn’t played any singles matches since October last year and he went down 7-5, 6-3 against world No 64 Wu, who won his maiden title at the Dallas Open in February.
After the match he pleaded for patience.
Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 13, 2023
“Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was,” he tweeted.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a successful 2022 campaign as he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, won the Australian Open men’s doubles alongside Thanasi Kokkinanis, won the Citi Open singles and doubles, and reached several semi-finals.
Having started the year outside the top 100, he surged back into the top 20 and currently finds himself at No 25.
The Australian knows it will take some time before he regains his best form again.
“I have to get used to playing in front of the crowd again. Feeling the moments like break points – all that stuff is new to me again,” he said.
“I made it through the match with no major pain. I’ve got a lot more work to do, but I’m taking some positive signs from it.”
READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios ‘plays the victim very well’ – former Wimbledon champion
