Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov labeled "dumb" by insider over controversial opinions on Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek's doping rows

Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov's criticism of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek's doping rows drew a scathing reaction from Andrea Petkovic, a former WTA World No. 9 and one of the most prominent tennis insiders today. Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs also weighed in on Petkovic's take on the Australian and the Canadian.

After reigning ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner's doping controversy shocked the tennis world in the buildup to the 2024 US Open, Kyrgios and Shapovalov blatantly criticized the circumstances surrounding it. While Kyrgios demanded a lengthy ban for the Italian, Shapovalov suggested that the rules don't apply the same way to all players.

More recently, the tennis fraternity was left stunned when news of former WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) came to the fore. Not long after, Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov voiced their shock at the Pole receiving a month-long ban, primarily via posts on X (formerly Twitter).

Former WTA World No. 9 Andrea Petkovic was not impressed with the Australian and the Canadian's opinions. The German appeared on an episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast and called Kyrgios and Shapovalov "dumb." According to Petkovic, the duo did not "bother" to go through the detailed reports of Sinner and Swiatek's respective cases.

"Tennis players are also dumb like you can see with Shapovalov and Kyrgios, they don't read the thing, they just opine on the internet. Like what are you? Society?" Petkovic said.

Rennae Stubbs, who coached Serena Williams for the final tournament of the American's legendary career at the 2022 US Open, also chimed in, saying:

"These guys, there's no doubt, they read a headline, and then they just go 'one month, he wrote one month? What?' It's like, did you even bother to look at it? What it said? What the reasoning behind it was? I mean, I don't understand these players that come out and do this publicly on X and social media saying this s**t. It's like, what are you doing?"

Petkovic isn't the only tennis insider to have called Kyrgios out over his incessant criticism of Sinner since the Italian's doping revelation.

"Jannik Sinner has been found not guilty" - Tennis insider urged Nick Kyrgios to stop criticizing Italian

Nick Kyrgios (Source: Getty)

Mark Petchey, a former tennis player, who famously coached Andy Murray, recently slammed Nick Kyrgios in light of the multiple instances in which the Australian has taken swipes at Jannik Sinner. Petchey, via an interview with Betway, urged Kyrgios to refrain from taking further shots at the Italian.

According to Petchey, based on the available information so far, Sinner is innocent. However, the Brit admitted that things may change for the Italian. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed against the World No. 1 being let off the hook, which is set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) next year.

"Nick Kyrgios needs to give it a rest. Sinner has been found not guilty, right? And we’re about to get the WADA appeal. Let’s just wait for that. You have to let the process go through due care and attention. This is a massive thing. It is somebody’s career," Petchey said.

As things stand, the CAS will not be hearing WADA's appeal against Sinner's case before February 11, 2025.