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Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios fined $10K for spitting at fan, advances to showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
·2-min read

The All England Club fined Australian Nick Kyrgios $10,000 on Thursday for unsportsmanlike conduct after he spit at a fan at Wimbledon.

The incident occurred during first-round play on Tuesday after Kyrgios secured a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5 win over Britain's Paul Jubb. After he secured match point, Kyrgios turned around and spit in the direction of a fan in the stands.

Kyrgios acknowledged in his post-match news conference that he intentionally spat at the fan, whom he said was heckling him during play.

"He literally came to the match to literally just not even support anyone, really," Kyrgios said of the fan. "It was more just to stir up and disrespect. That's fine. If I give it back to you, that's just how it is."

Australia's Nick Kyrgios eyes the ball as he returns it to Serbia's Filip Krajinovic during their men's singles tennis match on the fourth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on June 30, 2022. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Nick Kyrgios. (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images) (GLYN KIRK via Getty Images)

Kyrgios also complained about officials on Tuesday, telling chair umpire Marija Cicak during the match a lineswoman was a "snitch" for telling Cicak "something that I didn't say." He complained post-match about a linesman's eyesight, calling him and "old man" for a call he disagreed with.

"I said most of the umpires are older, and I just don't think that's ideal when you're playing a sport of such small margins," Kyrgios said. "Because factually, people that are younger have better eyesight.

Kyrgios' frustrations haven't impacted his play so far. He followed up Tuesday's first-round win with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win over Serbia's Filip Krajinovic on Thursday in Round 2. He sounds confident heading into a third-round matchup against No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, which promises to be one of Saturday's highlights at Wimbledon.

"Today, obviously, I was kind of in my zone, just great body language, just played well," Kyrgios said during his on-court interview. "I just wanted to remind everyone that I'm pretty good."