Nick Kyrgios had already been described as an “influencer” who “lived for the likes” when the “bad boy” of tennis crashed out in the first round at the Australian Open.

On the eve of the tournament, Andy Roddick, a former world No 1, was scathing in his criticism of Kyrgios, who claimed his straight-sets defeat by Jacob Fearnley, the British No 3, may have been his final singles appearance at Melbourne Park.

Against Fearnley, Kyrgios was every bit as divisive as his reputation would suggest. His performance was one of grimaces, expletive-filled rants and glimpses of brilliance as he exited his home major.

Kyrgios has been plagued with injuries since his last major appearance; the US Open in 2022. As those injury problems have mounted, the 29-year-old has only become more outspoken off court.

From criticising Sir Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal’s retirements to claims it was “impossible” the pyramids were built by humans, Kyrgios is no stranger to being outspoken.

His latest spat, this time involving Roddick, cast a cloud over the opening major of the season. Krygios has been the most outspoken critic of Jannik Sinner, after the world No 1 failed two drugs tests and avoided a ban. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled the contamination was of “no fault or negligence” by Sinner, but Kyrgios has repeatedly claimed on social media the doping incident proves tennis is “cooked”.

The World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed the verdict and are pushing for a lengthy ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sinner’s explanation is that the failed tests were caused by a healing spray used to treat a cut suffered by his physio, who had unwittingly exposed him to the substance through what were regular full-body massages

Over the last few months, Kyrgios attacked anyone who has spoken in support of Sinner and criticised the privacy of the hearings. The latest target was Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, after the teenager posted a photo with Sinner after the pair spent time on court together at Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open.

The post sparked a social media storm, with Kyrgios commenting: “Love ya Cruz but this is wild.”

That comment proved one too many for Roddick, who played against Hewitt Snr 14 times on the ATP Tour during their careers. Speaking on his Served podcast, Roddick said of Kyrgios: “At this point he is a tennis influencer. He lives for the likes, he lives in the comments section.

“What I have an issue with is the hypocrisy with which he picks and chooses when to levy judgment on others while also wanting you to digest the context of his comments – the latest being towards Cruz Hewitt.”

Roddick added: “Cruz Hewitt is 16 years old, son of Lleyton and the toughest competitor that I have ever played in my life, gets to hit with a guy who is No 1 in the world at the Australian Open. That is a big deal.

“Imagine as an almost 30-year-old man, going into the comments of a 16-year-old who is the best player in the world. If you think he is guilty or not guilty, it’s still a moment when you get to do that.

“That’s a big moment and to simply post a picture and then have this guy go into the comments and make it all about himself. ‘I thought we were bros’.

“The defence was all made that it was a joke. The lack of awareness you have with bringing trolls and all of the worst of tennis fandom into a 16-year-old’s comments is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous.”

Going one step further, Roddick suggested Kyrgios should not comment on morals given the 29-year-old had pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic violence in 2023. Kyrgios avoided a criminal conviction after a magistrate ruled that the offence was “low-level.”

“When you have moments in your life that aren’t the best. When you’ve pleaded guilty to physically assaulting your girlfriend, but you want people to understand the context,” Roddick said.

“You wanted people to understand your moment in time and life that didn’t make this acceptable but at least maybe say ‘this isn’t who I am, this isn’t what I do – I’m not an abuser even though I plead guilty to abuse.’

“It’s just hypocritical. It’s purely hypocritical.”

Kyrgios responded in kind, labelling Roddick a “sheep”.

Injuries have severely affected Kyrgios’s career over the last few years, since he reached a career-high world ranking of No 13 in 2016, and he has started to cultivate his social media following, with more than four million on Instagram alone. He even launched an OnlyFans account in 2023.

Similarly to Roddick, he has also taken ventures into more mainstream media and was a part of Wimbledon’s commentary team in 2024, although the American questioned the longevity of that path given Kyrgios’s outspoken comments. It remains to be seen what impact the Australian’s outspoken nature will have on his future career away from the tennis court.