Kyrgios Suspended

Nick Kyrgios was suspended for conduct detrimental to the game after he stood on the court and watched balls go by until he lost to qualifier Mischa Zverev in Shanghai.  The suspension was for 8 weeks, until January 15, 2007.  The 2017 Australian Open starts Jan. 16.  The suspension will be reduced to 3 weeks if Kyrgios can demonstrate that he’s undergoing suitable “treatment” to address his behavior.  Nick was also fined $25,000.

In my opinion this punishment was far too light.  Kyrgios has a long and strong history of misconduct, some of it vulgar, on the court.  Moreover, in the post match interview in Shanghai he stated that he owed nothing to fans who paid a lot to see him play.  In the next eight weeks there are few important tournaments, since Kyrgios will not make the year-end championships, and $25,000 is a pittance of a fine for someone in Kyrgios’ income bracket.

I believe the suspension should have ended after the Australian Open.  Kyrgios is from Australia, so it would be a meaningful setback for him to be excluded from that tournament.  In my view Nick very much needs a sanction that actually means something to him.  The fine is not nearly as important. 

After a Kyrgios loss earlier this year, John McEnroe, who is high on Nick’s talent, tweeted that Kyrgios should “do something else” if he doesn’t like tennis.  I believe the ATP should echo that comment by suspending him from the 2017 Aussie Open.