"Funny how we pick and choose" - Nick Kyrgios reacts to Andrey Rublev's angry outburst in French Open loss; questions seemingly contradictory outlook

Nick Kyrgios had strong words on how the press questioned Andrey Rublev about his outburst at the 2024 French Open. Kyrgios indirectly even hinted that the press would have termed the reaction a "disgrace" had he reacted the same way as the Russian did.

The World No. 6 suffered an early exit at the 2024 French Open. He lost to Matteo Arnaldi in the third round, 6(6)-7, 2-6, 4-6. During the match, the 26-year-old had an angry outburst on the court as he repeatedly hit the tennis racket against his knee.

Nick Kyrgios claimed that the press "picks and chooses" the questions to be asked depending on who the player is, and if he (Kyrgios) had done the same thing, it would have been termed a disgrace.

"Funny how we pick and choose when we ask ‘could see your emotions on court and how much it meant to you’ compared to ‘disgrace’ (disrespect)," Kyrgios wrote.

When asked about the emotions he was feeling after the defeat, the World No. 6 expressed disappointment over his behavior on the court and said,

"Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed, and I don't remember behaving worse on a slams ever. I think it was the first time I ever behaved that bad."

This is not the first instance of Rublev's on-field outburst this year. In March 2024, he was disqualified in the Dubai Open semifinals owing to his unsportsmanlike behavior towards the linesperson.

"Of course, I feel guilty about it" - Andrey Rublev on his Dubai Open behavior that led to his disqualification

Andrey Rublev during the 2024 French Open

Andrey Rublev was defaulted during the 2024 Dubai Open for his unsportsmanlike conduct towards a linesperson. He was competing against Alexander Bublik for a place in the finals.

During the match, a huge argument ensued when Rublev felt that the ball returned by the Kazakh had landed out. The linesperson however did not feel the same. This call later angered the Russian, who screamed at the linesperson.

Speaking to sports journalist Sofya Tartakova, Rublev said that his behavior was unacceptable and he should have never raised his voice.

"Such things are unacceptable in general, it's disrespectful. So of course, I feel guilty about it, and I'm ashamed that I allowed myself to do such things. To be honest, I have been allowing myself similar things many times before that incident," he said [at 1:05-1:18].