Nick Kyrgios is facing a five-figure fine and a potential tennis ban after a vicious attack on the chair umpire during his last-16 loss to Italy’s Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open.
The meltdown marked the second-straight tournament the 26-year-old has exited a tournament amid furious scenes, following his explosive loss to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells in which he was fined $33,000 for nearly hitting a ball boy with a smashed racquet.
You can watch Kyrgios’ heated argument with the chair umpire in the video above
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There were early signs that Kyrgios’ frustration would boil over on Wednesday morning (AEDT), as he complained about the state of the court almost as soon as he set foot on it.
The Australian’s attention soon turned to the crowd, who he labelled: “the worst, everyone’s just the worst.”
But it was a bizarre moment involving the chair umpire that really pushed Kyrgios over the edge amid his straight-sets loss to 20-year-old Sinner.
With scores locked at 4-4 in the opening set, the walkie talkie of Brazilian umpire Carlos Bernardes went off loudly, sparking a heated personal attack from Kyrgios.
“He should be fired on the spot,” Kyrgios said.
“How is that possible? A fourth round of Miami, one of the biggest tournaments and you guys just can’t do your job.
“It’s embarrassing. Get a new set of referees, these guys don’t know how to do s***. Walky-talkies going off.
“It’s a joke. He is a joke. Get rid of every single staff and start over. Everything. I will run the sport.
“I could do 100 times a better job. Marketing. Everything. You guys have no idea. None. You guys can’t even ref right.”
