Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios made his professional debut in 2012 and has grabbed the headlines ever since for his ‚bad-boy‘ antics on and off the court.

It comes as no surprise that the tempestuous Australian was the talk of the town on Tuesday when he lost the plot during his fourth-round 7-6, 6-3 defeat by Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open.

Kyrgios begun the match by complaining about the court speed and the noise from a walkie talkie during a point. The 26-year-old was then handed a point penalty at 3-5 in the tie-break for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The official’s decision did not sit well with Kyrgios and he was later handed game penalty for smashing his racket into his chair. The Australian subsequently erupted with anger and lashed out at the Brazilian umpire, Carlos Bernardes.

‚This is one of the biggest tournaments and you guys can’t do your job, it’s embarrassing,‘ raged Kyrgios. ‚I genuinely want to know what’s wrong with you. The crowd hates you.‘ 

Kyrgios said later: ‚If you are being booed by the crowd you are not doing a good job. I’ve never been part of a match where the umpire has been hated so much. The ATP don’t give a f.‘ 

‚How much do I bring to the sport? That’s the problem with tennis is that it doesn’t protect our stars at all. We love to outcast them. 

‚The ATP never defends their players and stands up to them. I am used to it, have been used to it my whole career and it sucks.

‚I have one incident where I threw a racket which didn’t hit anyone, I know it can be dangerous but I went back the next day and apologised to the kid the next day. He will remember that for the rest of his life.

‚Me, my girlfriend, my team all have to deal with the bad comments and the ATP don’t give a f.‘ 

This is not the first time Kyrgios has lashed out on the court. Sportsmail have rounded up the Australian’s most iconic meltdowns ever since he stepped onto the court professionally in 2012.

And, it’s a longer list than you may have imagined!  

Slating the music at the Australian Open in 2016

The 2016 Australian Open was a bit of a disaster for Kyrgios. He complained about the music, swore excessively and threw his racket across the court during his loss to Tomas Berdych. 

Berdych took the first set in 35 minutes, with Kyrgios appearing to complain towards his box – which contained Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt – that there was not enough vocal encouragement.

However, the most notable moment of the match came when Kyrgios stepped up to the line to serve in the second set. He stopped to complain about music he could hear, which is understood to have come from the neighbouring MCG which was hosting cricket’s Big Bash League semi-final. 

If that wasn’t enough, Kyrgios then engaged in a heated exchange with British umpire James Keothavong. Their conversation was picked up by the courtside microphones and it’s safe to say it didn’t shower Kyrgios in glory.

He said: ‚Mate, are you OK? There’s music playing in the crowd while we are playing. I’ve told you seven times. Am I hearing things? Am I hearing things? Mate, it’s a circus.‘

Berdych then served out for a two-set lead as Kyrgios continued to moan as he sat down on his courtside chair, muttering: ‚It’s a fjoke.‘

Kyrgios went on to lose the match 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 and criticise the chair umpire further – saying ‚you’re a terrible referee‘ as he walked off the court.  

Throwing a tantrum over the colour of his towel 

You never quite know which Kyrgios will be turning up on court. He can either be fun and playful or aggressive and short tempered. Unfortunately for the staff at the 2019  Rogers Cup, it was the latter. 

During his clash with Kyle Edmund, Kyrgios demanded that he was given a white towel, as opposed to a tournament-branded one. (Talk about being a diva!)

The 26-year-old refused to take part in the match until he was presented with a pristine new towel and caused quite the fuss on court while he waited. 

‚I just want to know why it took you so long to get a white towel,‘ Kyrgios asked officials. ‚Took you 20 minutes for this one. 20 minutes. Oh, you brought me two. Thanks.‘

Caught out partying prior to his Wimbleton 2019 exit 

Kyrgios has always been known for his controversial antics on court, but this incident questioned his decision-making off the court.   

The Australian bad boy of tennis was seen at the Dog & Fox Pub in Wimbleton until around 11pm the night before his second-round match with Rafael Nadal in 2019.  

Kyrgios was seen socialising with friends and chatting to girls at the pub on the Wednesday evening, according to sports commentator Miguel Seabra. 

He wrote: ‚I just had a toast with Nick Kyrgios at the Dog & Fox. He is completely relaxed, laughing with friends, chatting with girls, drinking. 

‚Quite an unorthodox preparation for tomorrow’s blockbuster, uh? I like it.‘ 

It comes a no surprise that Kyrgios crashed out of the tournament. However, instead of reflecting on his defeat…the Australian bad-boy headed straight back to the pub to wash away his misery.  

Demanding a beer on court at the 2017 French Open 

Kyrgios crashed out of the 2017 French Open in spectacular form, smashing two racquets and asking for a beer mid-match. 

The Australian star bombed out of the season’s second Grand slam in Paris with a 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2 second-round loss to South African star Kevin Anderson.

Kyrgios was visibly frustrated during the match and even asked a spectator to get him a beer after losing serve in the fourth set. 

‚Get me a beer now. Honest to God, get me one now,‘ he said. A spectator responded: ‚You’re kidding.‘ Kyrgios said: ‚I don’t think so.‘

Kyrgios entered the tournament under a fitness cloud – and hip and shoulder niggles undoubtedly contributed to his demise as the then-22-year-old coughed up an uncharacteristic nine double-faults in the four-set defeat.

Additionally, Kyrgios had just lost his Grandpa – making it somewhat of an emotional torment for more reasons than one. 

Blaming his defeat on a ‚hot chick‘ in the stands

Kyrgios is known for interacting with the crowd while on court. However, it never normally impacts his performance. 

The Australian bad-boy joked he had lost concentration during his 2019 Laver Cup defeat by Rodger Federer because he had spotted a ‚really hot chick in the crowd‘.  

The controversial 26-year-old was unable to hold off a rousing comeback from the Swiss great in Geneva, eventually being overcome 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 10-7 after one hour and 51 minutes. 

Kyrgios gave an amusing post-match interview after he had informed his team of the reason behind his poor performance.

He could be heard saying: ‚I lost concentration, I saw a really hot chick in the crowd. Like, I’m being genuinely honest – I’d marry her right now. Right now.‘  

Throwing a chair at the Italian Open in 2019

The day after giving an explosive interview in which he admitted he ‚can’t stand‘ the ‚cringeworthy‘ Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios was guilty of one of his worst meltdown’s to date. 

He hurled a chair onto the court at the 2019 Italian Open and kicked a bottle during an extraordinary outburst. His actions overshadowed iconic moments such as Jo Konta claiming back-to-back victories over Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens to reach the quarter finals.   

Kyrgios was issued with a fine of £17,000 after losing the plot against Norway’s Casper Ruud when he was given a game penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

Playing on a noisy outside court at the Foro Italico, Kyrgios was triggered by the crowd and became involved in an exchange with officials after being made to forfeit a game to go 2-1 down in the decider. 

Having angrily hurled his racket to the floor he threw the fold-up chair onto the playing surface and then went into an expletive-filled rant, shouting at the chair: ‚I am giving 100 per cent to deal with fidiots like him, I’m done. I’m fdone. I’m fdone with it. I don’t give a f.‘

He then put his bag over his shoulder and walked off court of his own accord, but was officially defaulted from the match.

Telling Stan Wawrinka a friend ‚banged his girlfriend‘

Kyrgios got himself into hot water once again after brutally trash-talking his Swiss opponent, Stan Wawrinka, during a second-round clash at the 2015 Montreal Masters. 

In a remark picked up by a courtside microphone, Kyrgios told third-seeded Wawrinka that a teenage Australian player, Thanasi Kokkinakis, slept with his girlfriend. 

‚Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend,‘ he said, midway through the second set. ‚Sorry to tell you that, mate‘. 

Kyrgios was referring to his Davis Cup team-mate Kokkinakis, while Wawrinka was romantically linked with Donna Vekic. 

Wawrinka, who was the reigning Australian and French Open champion, was not happy with Kyrgios and took to Twitter after the match to condemn his actions. 

He said: ‚So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way could never even imagine. To [stoop] so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief‘. 

As a result of his questionable court-etiquette, Kyrgios was fined £10,000 and handed a 28-day suspended sentence. 

Abusing hecklers and calling out Ben Stiller 

Kyrgios lost to the 2022 Australian Open champion Nadal in a three-set thriller at Indian Wells. He was beaten 7-6 (7-0), 5-7, 6-4 to end an extraordinary tournament.

However, it was Kyrgios‘ tantrum that caught everyone’s attention. Kyrgios‘ most memorable outburst of the match came when he singled out Ben Stiller – who was watching from the stands with wife Christine Taylor – to deal with a heckler. 

The extraordinary exchange went like this: 

Kyrgios: ‚Are you good at tennis?‘

Heckler: ‚No.‘

Kyrgios: ‚Exactly, so don’t tell me how to play. [Pointing at Stiller and his wife who were sitting nearby] Do I tell him how to act? No.‘ 

Dropping F-bomb after beating Ruud at Indian Wells 

Kyrgios has had a long-standing rivalry with Casper Ruud – having previously defaulted from the the Italian Open in 2019 for throwing a chair onto the court in the final set of their clash.  

Kyrgios ensured that he got the last laugh over Ruud in March 2022 –  defeating the 23-year-old 6-4 ,6-4 in a ruthless performance to advance in California. 

The Australian went on to taunt his opponent after emerging victorious. He was filmed saying: ‚I hear no talking now. I hear no talking now. None. Fing none.‘ 

However, Kyrgios later took to Instagram to apologise for his comments – admitting that emotions got the better of him during the match. 

Outburst at the chair umpire Fergus Murphy in 2019 

He just can’t help himself can he? Kyrgios was fined £98,904 for smashing two racquets and calling the chair umpire a ‚fking tool at the Cincinnati Masters in 2019. 

The ATP announced the penalties on the day after the tennis bad-boy berated chair umpire Fergus Murphy during a straight sets loss to Karen Khachanov. 

The ATP listed a breakdown of eight fines ranging from £2,282 to £15,216 each for violations such as unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity. 

Mimicking a lewd sex act at Queen’s, 2018

You think Kyrgios would know by now that cameras are everywhere at these sort of events! 

The 26-year-old was caught mimicking a crude sex act with a water bottle during a break in games at the Marin Cilic at Queen’s last year. 

The live footage of what he thought was a private moment between himself and his player’s box was broadcast to homes across the world.   

Kyrgios held his drink bottle towards his groin and appeared to pretend to masturbate.

After playing around with his drink bottle he then finished off by spraying water onto the ground and taking a sip before sharing a cheeky grin. He was fined £13,000.

Earlier in the week he shouted out ‚f‘ during his match against Kyle Edmund, forcing BBC commentary to apologise for the foul language.

His response when it was raised afterwards? ‚Fine. I don’t care‘. 

Refusing to try at Shanghai, 2016  

Accusations of tanking have followed Kyrgios throughout his career. He was booed at Wimbleton in 2015 for a lack of effort in returning serves from Richard Gasquet.

Fans hoped their furious reaction would teach Kyrgios a lesson, but it seemed to do little good as he did not return shots and served without effort at the Shanghai Masters just one year later.  

At one point he patted a serve over the net and at another he was walking off court before his opponent, Mischa Zverev, had returned the ball.

When told to act professionally by umpire Ali Nili after swearing, he responded: ‚Can you call time so I can finish this match and go home?‘. 

Kyrgios was issued with a three-month ban and a £20,500 fine but he made no apologies for his conduct after the match, even taking aim at the fans.

‚I don’t owe them [the fans] anything. It’s my choice. If you don’t like it, I didn’t ask you to come watch. Just leave. You want to buy a ticket? Come watch me.

‚You know I’m unpredictable. It’s your choice. I don’t owe you anything. Doesn’t affect how I sleep at night.‘ 

Taking a phone call on court at Australian Open, 2016   

Before a mixed doubles match in Melbourne five years ago Kyrgios answered a phone call as he sat down with partner Ajla Tomljanovic.

He could have let it go to voicemail. He could have switched it off. He could have left it in the locker room. But no, he decided to answer it on court. 

For once Kyrgios escaped punishment, but eyebrows were still raised after this indiscretion, with many questioning his professionalism and commitment to the sport. 

Officials investigated the incident, which had left Tomljanovic thoroughly bemused, but he avoided sanction because it was pre-match.

‚Some of my friends called me,‘ Kyrgios said. When asked if it was something important, he replied: ‚Kind of, not really‘. 

Pelting a tennis racket at by standing ball boy 

Kyrgios‘ gags are usually harmless but he came extremely close to causing some serious damage when he lost his temper at Indian Wells in March 2022. 

Kyrgios was forced to apologies to the ball boy he nearly hit with a tennis racket after his quarterfinal defeat to Rafa Nadal. The Aussie star fell 7-6 (7-0), 5-7, 6-4 and lost his temper immediately after the match. 

He launched his racket at the wall of the arena – leaving ball boy Tei Park ducking for cover. Overnight, Kyrgios sheepishly took to Instagram to find out the identity of the ball boy and apologise.

Sharing a post to his story, Kyrgios said: ‚I just want to apologise to that ball kid at the end of the match. 

‚It was a complete accident and 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!‘ 

Purposefully aims a ball at Rafael Nadal 

Kyrgios confessed he was aiming to hit Nadal with the ball during their second-round match at Wimbleton in 2019. The Australian even refused to apologise for deliberately thrashing a forehand directly at his opponent in their ill-tempered grudge match at Wimbleton. 

The tennis bad-boy admitted he was ‚going for him‘ and told a press conference after his four set defeat: ‚I wanted to hit him square in the chest.‘ 

He said: ‚I don’t care. Why would I apologise? I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank account? I think he can take a ball to the chest. I’m not going to apologise to him at all.‘ 

His confession has sparked an angry backlash on social media, with fans calling for the ’spoiled brat‘ to be fined or ‚banned‘ from the sport. 

Ignoring questions and chugging a Stella Artois 

Kyrgios showcased his bizarre behaviour once again during a press conference 2019. He ignored a reporter’s question in favour of drinking a beer.  

Kyrgios had been playing for Team World who lost to Team Europe during the Laver Cup in Geneva, Switzerland. 

After the final tie between Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev, Kyrgios attended a press conference joined by team captain and US tennis legend John McEnroe. 

Kyrgios was angry about a question regarding his loss to Roger Federer during the competition and opted to drink he beer rather than answer. 

However, when promoted, he said: ‚Probably just had to do with something that I was playing someone that’s probably the best to ever play the sport.

‚I don’t think it was a lack of shot selection or lack of discipline or lack of power or lack of anything. I think the guy I was playing was just pretty good. Don’t you think so? Yeah. It’s a pretty bad question, to be honest.‘