Tennis Star Kyrgios—A Critic Of Pandemic-Playing Peers—Trades Insults With Boris Becker

TOPLINE

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios—outspoken about players and tournaments he believes are not taking the Covid-19 outbreak seriously—exchanged insults with German tennis legend Boris Becker on Twitter, with Kyrgios calling Becker a “doughnut” after Becker called him a “rat” for his criticisms of peers.

KEY FACTS

crucial Quote

In the video, which led to this war of words, Kyrgios called out Zverev saying: “If you have the audacity to f***ing put out a tweet, that you made your management write on your behalf, saying you’re going to self-isolate for 14 days and apologizing to the f***ing general public about putting their health at risk, at least have the audacity to stay inside for 14 days.”

Key Background

Last week, multiple tennis players and their support staff had tested positive for Covid-19 after competing in the exhibition tournament organised by world number 1, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, his wife Jelena, three other players, three coaches and one player’s pregnant wife, had tested positive, leading to the competition getting cancelled. Djokovic also issued a statement saying sorry the tournament “caused harm.” With international tennis suspended due to the pandemic, Djokovic had organised the Adria Tour as a charity event to be contested over four legs in Serbia and Croatia. The tournament had drawn large crowds who packed the stands during the opening leg in Belgrade. The players were not obliged to observe social distancing rules as both Serbia and Croatia began easing lockdown measures weeks before the event. Kyrgios had also slammed the event, calling it “boneheaded” in a tweet, adding “that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols. This is not a joke.”