Nick Kyrgios speaks out after throwing F-bombs in front of Royal box at Wimbledon

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has finally addressed dropping a series of F-bombs in front of the Royal Box at Wimbledon back in 2022. The 30-year-old has never made any apologies for his rambunctious and controversial approach to the sport. While a talent with the racket, Kyrgios has often been overshadowed by outbursts and ruthless injuries that have hampered him in recent years.

Speaking at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Kyrgios has admitted that his personality doesn't make him an instant match for tennis. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the All England Club final of three years ago and discussing his hurling of expletives in front of the Royals, the chaotic Aussie, in trademark fashion, made no apologies. "When I played in front of the Royal Box at Wimbledon, I was throwing F-bombs," he said. "It's been a struggle to kind of fit in, but now I kind of embrace it. I'm not going to change for anyone."

Kyrgios admitted that his natural instincts for sports such as gaming and basketball means he is predisposed to have a more raucous attitude. "I think my passion was basketball and gaming, and I was thrown into a sport where tennis is very clean cut," he added.

"I'm very rough around the edges, and I didn't really fit the mould for a tennis player I really struggled with that early in my career. Now I'm embracing it, and I'm glad I'm able to put on a show."

Once ranked as high as 13 in the world, Kyrgios has reached the quarter-finals of the Australian and US Open. However, his run to the Wimbledon final in 2022 is his best performance in a major and some have argued the Canberra-born star could have achieved more, something he was keen to address - with his love for gaming taking the blame.

"I've been criticised in my career for not putting enough time on the court," he said. "I've missed tournaments and training because I've just been gaming, purely because I love it. When I played those nine-hour gaming sessions when we were younger, I guess my mum didn't think this was possible [playing Esports competitively]."

Kyrgios has endured an injury-plagued recent spell, with his only Grand Slam appearance of 2025 coming at the Australian Open, where he was beaten by British star Jacob Fearnley.

He recently made a doubles comeback in the Citi Open however, playing alongside French veteran Gael Monfils. The pair advanced to the round of 16 before being beaten by Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys.

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Kyrgios used his protected ranking to enter the singles event at the Citi Open and took on a doubles wildcard alongside Monfils. He later pulled out of singles, and his doubles outing lasted only 58 minutes, as the duo were on the end of a rapid 6-2, 6-2 defeat.

While the performance may not have demonstrated, Kyrgios does have experience on the doubles court. The 30-year-old has even won the doubles title in Washington alongside Jack Sock and he teamed up with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis to win the Australian Open in 2022.

Ahead of the Citi Open, Kyrgios shared his excitement of being back on the court. "I mean just to be back here, after my wrist injury and my knee injury, I never thought that I'd be back at a tournament like this playing ever again, to be honest," he said.

His knee issue did flare up again during his time in Washington however, and was heavily strapped up during the match. "Knee cooked but fans still f****d with us," he wrote on Instagram after losing the game. As provocative as ever, in a separate post, he added: "Say what you want... you watched."