Nick Kyrgios' 'attacks' on Jannik Sinner fueled by 'personal vendetta' over Italian dating his ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya: Tennis insider

Nick Kyrgios has been extremely vocal in his criticism of Jannik Sinner since it came to light that the World No. 1 tested positive for Clostebol during the 2024 season. Although Kyrgios has maintained that his jibes directed at Sinner were intended to protect the integrity of the sport and prevent the issue from getting swept under a rug, tennis journalist Jon Wertheim has suggested a different motive behind the Australian's behavior.

Amid his outspokenness against the Italian, Kyrgios also took a controversial dig at Sinner's girlfriend, fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya. The derogatory jibe caused a furor in the tennis community, with Wertheim denouncing the Australian's "misogynistic" comment. The inflammatory nature of the remark stemmed from the 29-year-old and Kalinskaya briefly dating in 2020.

During the latest episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, Jon Wertheim suggested that Nick Kyrgios' hostility towards Jannik Sinner was rooted in a "personal vendetta" over his ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya now dating the World No. 1, rather than any genuine concerns about doping.

"Beyond the needles and the emojis, he demonstrated such a fundamental lack of understanding of facts, it makes you think this is not a good faith effort. You know, he's the great hero who's going to finally be the truth teller who talks about how corrupt the sport is. That's not what this is. This is just a personal vendetta. There is a woman involved here, who also happens to be a player," Wertheim said.

Wertheim also emphasized that Kyrgios' understanding of the doping protocols and the specifics of the Italian's case was deeply "flawed," concluding that the 29-year-old's animosity was driven by a "bad faith vendetta" against Sinner and Kalinskaya.

"His explanation was so flawed, you're thinking if you're gonna attack a colleague, who happens to be ranked No. 1, coached by someone you work with, if you're gonna attack that person, nail the facts," he said.

"But he didn't even seem to understand the doping protocols and the context to begin with which leads me to conclude this is all just a bad faith vendetta against a player who's now dating a former girlfriend and nothing more," he added.

"This is all just a personal vindictive attack" - Jon Wertheim on Nick Kyrgios 'relentlessly bullying' Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner - Source: Getty

During his conversation with Andy Roddick, tennis journalist Jon Wertheim also pointed out that Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill was Nick Kyrgios's colleague on the ESPN commentary desk, highlighting the complicated dynamics at play.

He denounced Kyrgios' "vindictive attack" against the World No. 1, disclosing his inner conflict over whether to stand up to the Australian for "relentlessly bullying" Sinner or avoid giving him the attention he sought.

"Bear in mind too that Jannik Sinner, who he has relentlessly been bullying for months and months and hasn't responded is also coached by a colleague at ESPN. There's so much going on here but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with bonafide concerns about doping," Wertheim said.

"This is all just a personal vindictive attack against another player and there's a part of me that says we just need to ignore this and not feed the troll and there's another part of like no, you stand up to bullies," he added.

On the tennis front, Nick Kyrgios and Jannik Sinner will both be in action at the 2025 Australian Open, the main draw action of which is scheduled to commence on January 12. Kyrgios has openly expressed his desire to face the defending champion at the Melbourne Slam, revealing his plan to "lose all respect" during their potential encounter.