Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios was one of the most vocal critics of Jannik Sinner when news broke of the World No. 1 failing two tests for a banned substance earlier this year. Even as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) claimed Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” for failing the tests, Kyrgios refused to accept that Sinner was innocent, constantly taking shots at the Italian for cheating the sport.
With his home major — the 2025 Australian Open — fast approaching, Kyrgios has continued to call out Sinner at every given opportunity. During his recent appearance on the “Nothing Major” podcast, Kyrgios said he plans to turn the Melbourne crowd against Sinner and hoped they’d square off in the singles draw.
“I really want to go out there and I really want to play Sinner,” Kyrgios said. “If I played him in the Australian Open, I’d get every person in the crowd to get on him. I would turn into an absolute riot. All respect would go out the window and I would just do anything to win.”
Kyrgios said he’s got “nothing personal” against Sinner or Iga Swiatek — who also failed a drug test in 2024 — and was more concerned about the integrity of the sport. The Aussie also refused to buy the notion that Sinner was unaware that his physio, whom he later fired, inadvertently contaminated him with the steroid during treatment.
“Once you get caught you can’t act like the victim,” Kyrgios said of Sinner. “That’s what p—-s me off even more about it. I’m like ‘hold on a second, you employ your team, don’t you?'”
In some ways, Kyrgios was validated for his earlier criticisms of Sinner when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in September appealed ITIA’s verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), calling for Sinner to be banned “between one and two years.” Sinner is currently awaiting the results of the CAS investigation, with arbitration proceedings reportedly underway. The CAS’ decision will be considered final and binding but Sinner and WADA will each have the right to appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days.
Sinner will be defending his Australian Open crown after winning last year’s event, his first career major. One wonders if Kyrgios will succeed in creating a hostile environment for the World No. 1.
