'You are f****** dead': Nick Kyrgios exposes vile death threats and nasty trolls
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has revealed the extent of abuse he has suffered online, which includes a death threat he received on Instagram.
FollowAustralian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has revealed the extent of abuse he has suffered online, which includes a death threat he received on Instagram. Known for his exuberant personality and antics on the court, Kyrgios posted screenshots of some of the messages he has received, where trolls have warned him he was 'f****** dead' and to 'watch his back' and others urging him to 'quit tennis'.
Hours after courting controversy again for lashing out at the umpire following his loss to Reilly Opelka in their semi-final of the ATP clay-court event in Houston, Texas, the Australian shared screengrabs with the caption, "Nice threats my g."
According to the screenshots, User xcr13 has sent a direct message to the 26-year-old, which read, "You are f****** dead watch your back."
After dropping the first set 3-6, the Australian was trailing 15-30 in the second set with scores levelled at five-all when a call went against Kyrgios as Opelka's return went over the baseline but wasn't called out by umpire Joshua Brace.Â
"What do you mean, you don't know from there? Where are you supposed to see it from?" he yelled at umpire Brace.Â
"It was out, bro! He wins that point when the ball was out. What are you guys actually doing out here? If it was out, then I did miss it,' Brace admitted.
"Well, congratulations," Kyrgios replied.
Kyrgios then lost the next point due to an unforced error, loudly screaming 'F***' following his mistake. He was subsequently docked a point for an audible obscenity, which cost him the game and put his opponent 6-5 up in the set.
The development only irked the 26-year-old further. "It was f***ing out of bounds on clay. How are you not calling it?" he shouted at the umpire.
"It's up to you guys to make that call. I can't stop mid-point!" he added.
"I believe you now, I made a mistake," Brace replied.
"Do you think it was a costly mistake?" the Australian star shot back.Â
"How about you come out to the media and say, "I did a terrible job". The whole media thinks it's my fault," Kyrgios exclaimed.
This incident is the latest in the long list of outbursts the Australian has unleashed toward chair umpires. Earlier this year, Kyrgios was fined a total of 80,000 dollars for his misconduct at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Following this recent spate of misconducts, including the Alexander Zverev outburst at the Mexico Open, the chairman of ATP, Andrea Gaudenzi, ordered a complete review of the whole code of conduct.
The circular, as reported by DailyMail UK, states, "The first three months of the season have seen an unusual frequency of high-profile incidents involving unsportsmanlike conduct. This includes serious cases of verbal and racquet abuse."
"We have seen too many dangerous moments, with officials or ball persons caught in the crossfire of aggressive or disrespectful conduct. These incidents shine a bad light on our sport. This conduct affects everyone and sends the wrong message to our fans, especially young fans," wrote Gaudenzi in the internal note as quoted by Dailymail.
"Effective immediately, and as we head into the clay-court swing, the ATP officiating team has been directed to take a stricter stance in judging violations of the Code of Conduct. Additionally, we are also undertaking a review of the code, as well as the disciplinary processes, to ensure that it provides appropriate and up-to-date penalties for repeat offenders," the note goes on to add.
