Nick Kyrgios had some words for his fellow commentators after getting in the booth (Image: Getty)
has taken fresh shots at tennis commentators and called for a shake-up.
The Australian previously but he got a taste of the job himself this year, getting in the commentary booth for the , ESPN and Eurosport.
However, Kyrgios still isn’t happy with the approach some of his former colleagues take.
Kyrgios is from a two-year injury layoff in January . The former world No. 13 has been sidelined by knee and wrist problems, having multiple surgeries.
He stayed busy during his time away from the tour and kept himself involved in tennis, calling matches from the booth. The 2022 finalist had his first foray into commentary during last year’s ATP Finals.
Since then, he’s covered the Australian Open and for top broadcasters like the Beeb. But Kyrgios still isn’t happy about how critical his fellow commentators can be. “I’m not a very critical commentator,” he told The AO Show.
“I don’t like when commentators beat down (on players) or are too critical, because it’s not easy out there, in today’s day and age, the game’s so physical.”
Nick Kyrgios worked for the BBC during Wimbledon this year (Image: Getty)
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It’s not just the brutal honesty that Kyrgios isn’t a fan of – he wants those in the booth to know their stuff and give lower-ranked players a platform. He continued: “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.”
As part of his hopes of a shake-up, Kyrgios also wants to see tennis move on with the times. “I think commentating and this (media) side of things in the tennis world is so underrated,” 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.”
For now, Kyrgios is focused on getting back on the court so pundits can call his matches again. But the Aussie hasn’t been afraid to call out commentators on social media in the past, and he will no doubt have his ear out even when he’s back on tour.