Indian Wells: Kyrgios apologises to ball boy for almost 'hitting' him during drama-soaked loss to Nadal
Nick Kyrgios took to social media to apologise to the ball boy he nearly hit with a tennis racket that he smashed following his quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells.
FollowThere's no doubt that Nick Kyrgios is a colourful firebrand on the tennis court, but one standout quality is the Australian is always willing to own up to his mistakes off it.
The 26-year-old took to social media to apologise to the ball boy he nearly hit with a tennis racket that he smashed following his quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells.
The World No. 132 was engaged in a high-octane, drama-soaked clash against the 21-time Grand Slam champion but eventually fell 7-6 (0) 5-7 6-4. From using swear words to dragging Hollywood funnyman Ben Stiller into his drama, the match eventually culminated in the Kyrgios smashing his racket into the court after shaking hands with Nadal.
The racket unexpectedly bounced toward the arena wall where it left ball boy Tei Park ducking for cover. Overnight, Kyrgios took to Instagram to find out the identity of the ball boy and apologise.Â
Also read:Â Indian Wells: Kyrgios' tantrums, brush with Ben Stiller headlines loss to Nadal
"I just want to apologise to that ball kid at the end of the match," the Australian wrote on Instagram.
"It was a complete accident, and I was frustrated at the end of the match. My racket took a crazy bounce and was never my intention. If anyone knows who that ball kid is, send me a message, and I will send a racket to him. I'm glad he's OK!"
Social media responded, and it wasn't long until Kyrgios had the ball boy's name and contact details so he could reach out personally and apologise.
"Hey, bro! Sorry about my racket incident at the end! Complete accident, you all OK from it? I was wondering if I could send you a racket and if you could accept my apology? Are you at the courts tomorrow?" Kyrgios messaged.
The ball boy was more than happy to accept the peace offering and revealed he was unharmed from the incident. "Hi! Thanks for reaching out. I'm completely fine. I would love to get a racket! Of course, I accept the apology. I'll be back at the courts tomorrow." Tei Park said.
This gesture was a complete U-turn from Kyrgios' earlier stance, where he fumed upon being asked about the incident by a reporter in the post-match press conference.
"What would you like me to say about it? Obviously, was that my intention? No. Because I threw a racquet. Did I throw the racquet anywhere near him originally? It landed a metre from my foot and skidded and nearly hit him,' Kyrgios had said.
"I'm human. Things happen like that. Obviously, it was a very misfortunate bounce. I think if I did that a million times over, it wouldn't have gone that way. And what do you want me to say? It was three metres away from the kid. That's a question you're going to say after a three-hour battle against Nadal. That's what you come here with?" he remarked.
"Just over a month ago, Alexander Zverev was disqualified from the Mexican Open in Acapulco for damaging the umpire's chair with his racket. He ducked. Duck. He ducked. He ducked. He ducked. Jesus. All right. It was an accident. It was most definitely not like Zverev. I didn't hit him, thankfully. It wasn't my intention. So thankfully, the ball kid's OK. Great question, though. Unbelievable stuff. [Clapping]. Congratulations, man," Kyrgios concluded.
