Nick Kyrgios handed MEGA fine for US Open racquet meltdown

Nick Kyrgios was fined R242 000 for his spectacular double racquet smashing tantrum at the end of his US Open defeat to Karen Khachanov.

Sep 8, 2022 - 08:25
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Nick Kyrgios handed MEGA fine for US Open racquet meltdown

Nick Kyrgios was fined $14 000 (R242 000) on Wednesday for his spectacular double racquet smashing tantrum at the end of his US Open defeat to Karen Khachanov.

READ | ICYMI: Check out these images of Nick Kyrgios’ poor tennis racquets

The Australian violently crushed two racquets into the surface of the Arthur Ashe Stadium after his five-set quarter-final loss on Tuesday.

It was Kyrgios’s fifth sanction of the tournament after he was earlier punished for bad language and spitting.

His fines totalled $32 500 (R560 000) although the sum will only cause a small dent in his total prize money of $445 000 (R7.7 million).

Nick Kyrgios left ‘devastated’

Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios was seen as a potential champion in New York but his 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 loss to Russia’s Khachanov left him “devastated”.

“Just feel like it was either winning it all or nothing at all, to be honest,” said Kyrgios.

“I feel like I’ve just failed at this event right now. That’s what it feels like.”

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse