Kyrgios reacts angrily to his assault charge being mentioned following Swiatek’s criticism

Nick Kyrgios did not take kindly to a social media user who defended Iga Swiatek against him by mentioning the Australian’s history of pleading guilty to an assault charge.

Kyrgios will play only his second tournament in the past two years at the Brisbane International, scheduled for the opening week of the 2025 season. He next plans to compete in the Australian Open.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up has kept busy while recovering from serious wrist and ankle injuries by working as a commentator and continuing to post his opinions on social media.

Much of Kyrgios’ analysis can be thoughtful and interesting. He developed five ideas to improve tennis. While fans may not agree with all of his proposals, they were worth the debate.

Kyrgios often causes controversy with his differing opinions. A notable example in 2024 is his outspoken views on Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek who tested positive for banned substances this year.

Sinner’s case was made public a few days before the US Open. His two positive tests for the banned substance clostebol came at the Indian Wells Open in March, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

A five-month private investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency cleared him of wrongdoing, but the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed and wants a one- to two-year ban.

While several players have been irritated by the handling of Sinner’s case, Kyrgios has since become the Italian’s most outspoken critic, including spreading theories about how long clostebol can remain in a player’s system.

Kyrgios was also unhappy with Swiatek’s case. The former WTA No. 1 accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine, saying an over-the-counter medicine was contaminated with the banned substance.

The controversial 29-year-old posted “Our sport is done” on

A fellow

“A bigger problem in our sport is that abusers like you are allowed to continue playing without any punishment, so before you say our sport is done, shut your mouth.”

The volatile Kyrgios was not happy with that answer. He called the user a ‘potato’, an insult the former Wimbledon finalist regularly uses on social media, and accused them of spreading disinformation.

“Huh? Have you read my case?…..when a potato like you speaks without facts, it is called spreading misinformation….Hahahaha, be angry.”

Getting the facts of the Kyrgios case right is essential. The Australian pleaded guilty to pushing his then girlfriend to the ground during an argument when she tried to prevent him from leaving where they were in Canberra.

However, the judge decided not to convict Kyrgios because the crime was on the low side of seriousness for simple assault.