Two of the top journalists in tennis have accused Nick Kyrgios of making a “misogynistic, wildly inappropriate comment” about women’s tennis star and his ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya. The Aussie tennisstar sparked mass outrage online on Sunday morning with a two-word reply to a photo that showed him and Kalinskaya that was taken some four years ago.
Kyrgios responded to the photo on X by writing “second serve”, which many fans interpreted as being a misogynistic swipe at World No. 1 Jannik Sinner‘s current partner Kalinskaya. The 29-year-old has not elaborated on his comment, however, has been critical of Sinner in recent months, calling for him to be banned after the Italian’s doping violation was made public last month.
Sinner tested positive for an anabolic steroid in March, but the International Tennis Agency accepted he did not willingly take the substance and was therefore not suspended. Kyrgios publicly called for Sinner to face punishment, igniting a feud between the tennis rivals.
The pair’s history is something regularly brought up with Kyrgios previously dating Sinner’s now-girlfriend, Russian tennis star Kalinskaya. Kyrgios and Kalinskaya split in May of 2020 and the World No.15 started dating Sinner earlier this year and has been a regular in his box at the US Open matches.
Due to Kyrgios’ latest swipe at Sinner over the doping violation, the Italian star’s fans have been sending a barrage of negative comments to Kyrgios on Twitter and Instagram. But the abuse took a nasty turn on Sunday morning when the Aussie clapped back. A fan tagged Kyrgios in a tweet that showed him and Kalinskaya at an NBA game back in 2020. And Kyrgios “second serve” reply went down like a lead balloon.
