The Australian tennis pro Nick Kyrgios denounced racist statements from the audience after his semifinals at the ATP tournament in Stuttgart.
“One thing I will never tolerate is spectators swearing and swearing at athletes. It’s been happening to me personally for a while, from racist comments to outright disrespect,” the 27-year-old wrote on Instagram. “I pushed it aside for years, but especially in Indian Wells and today in Stuttgart, I noticed that people seem to think it’s normal.”
Kyrgios, who is also known for his freaks, lost 6-7 (5-7) and 2-6 to two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray on Saturday. His behavior is not always the best, but comments like “You little black sheep” and “Shut up and play” are not acceptable, he wrote in his Instagram story.
Incident is being investigated
The organizers announced that no discriminatory statements by viewers would be accepted. “We have expressed our regret at what happened to Nick Kyrgios and his team and have assured him that we do not accept such behavior. The incident is currently being investigated by those responsible,” it said. Compliance with sporting values such as fairness, tolerance and team spirit have top priority.
After a balanced first set, the tie-break ended ugly. At the last rally, Kyrgios bounced the ball because of a mistake and the Australian smashed his racquet. For this he was penalized with a point deduction. At the beginning of the second round, Kyrgios also messed with the audience, insulted them and was deducted to make it 0: 2. After that, the match was about to be abandoned because the Australian didn’t want to get used to the course of the game, talked to himself and moaned. He played the game listlessly to the end and was whistled goodbye by the audience. “If I fight back against the crowd, I will be punished. That’s stupid,” he wrote.