Nick Kyrgios calls for commentary shake-up as he delivers ‘too critical’ verdict
Nick Kyrgios has accused some tennis commentators of being “too critical” as he discussed his approach to his broadcasting career.
Former world No 13 Kyrgios will return to action at the Brisbane International at the start of 2025, having played just one tournament across the past two seasons due to injury concerns.
While unable to play professional tennis, the 29-year-old has switched his focus to broadcasting and commentary, working for organisations such as ESPN, Eurosport, and the BBC.
Kyrgios has widely been praised for his commentary and punditry skills, with many predicting he has a long-term future in the role once he retires from the sport.
Speaking to The AO Show, the former Wimbledon finalist revealed he tried to avoid the path of commentators he thought were too harsh on players – and claimed that a fresh approach to broadcasting was needed.
He said: “I’m not a very critical commentator.
“I don’t like when commentators beat down or are too critical, because it’s not easy out there – in today’s day and age the game’s so physical.
“Tennis commentating right now needs a bit of a shake-up, I think. I guess when you’ve really played, and you understand the Futures and the Challengers, like how many players there are on a global scale, [you understand] how hard it is to actually make it into the top 128 players to make a Grand Slam.
“Our job as commentators is to study these players and know their journey, and hopefully get their name out there. We can’t just continually promote the same players over and over again. There are some good players out there that no one knows.
“I take that into account when I’m commentating. I like to really get it out there.”
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Tennis has made multiple moves to try and attract a younger audience in recent years, experimenting with new formats at events such as the NextGen Finals, and increasing its social media presence.
Kyrgios believes that commentators also need to adapt to appeal to younger fans and to bring new people into the sport.
He added: “When someone turns on the TV, they might not know – we’re not talking about the fans that have followed the sport for 20 years – we’re talking about new fans and bringing them to the game. They’re not going to know anything about these players.
“So the commentating needs to be up-to-date, I guess, in a way. It needs to be, like, kind of how the generation is now.
“They can’t concentrate for more than a couple of minutes, so it needs to be loud, it needs to be energetic for a 20-second, 30-second (bit) and that might grab a new fan.”
Kyrgios last played at the Stuttgart Open in 2023, his only tournament of that season.
Currently unranked, he will look to battle back up the ATP Rankings when he returns at the ATP 250 event in Brisbane – the first event of his season.
Action in Brisbane concludes just one week before the start of his home Grand Slam at the Australian Open, with the event in Melbourne beginning on January 12.
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