"One of the saddest sights at US Open was Chris Evert sitting with Nick Kyrgios" - Tennis insider slams Aussie over 'objectifying' WTA players

A prominent tennis insider has criticized Nick Kyrgios following his seemingly offensive comment directed at Jannik Sinner's girlfriend, Anna Kalinskaya, during the 2024 US Open. The insider criticized Kyrgios for once again letting himself down and became the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.

Kyrgios, who was hired by ESPN to cover the 2024 US Open, participated in various roles, including match commentary, analysis, and post-match on-court interviews. Throughout the two-week duration of the hardcourt Major, the former World No. 13 bashed reigning World No. 1 Jannik Sinner over the Italian testing positive for a banned substance earlier this year.

However, many felt that Kyrgios crossed the line after he wrote 'second serve' in response to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that featured an old photo of himself and Anna Kalinskaya. While the Australian did not elaborate on what he meant by the two-word phrase, it triggered outrage, as several fans suspected that the remark had a derogatory sexual undertone to it.

Kyrgios and Kalinskaya had dated briefly in 2020, but the Russian WTA star is currently in a relationship with ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

Recently, renowned tennis insider Jon Wertheim, while answering fans' questions for Sports Illustrated, wrote that he was saddened to see Kyrgios commentating on and analyzing matches for ESPN alongside the legendary Chris Evert at the US Open. Wertheim went on to criticize the Australian over his now-deleted 'second serve' post as well.

"One of the saddest sights I witnessed at the Open was Chris Evert sitting with Kyrgios. On one side of the screen sat an 18-time major champion who embodies decency, dignity and strength," Wertheim wrote.

"On the other side, a tennis talent profligate who—barely a year after his domestic violence guilty plea; having already established a track record for objectifying WTA players with crude references to their sexual history—thought it was a good idea to tweet this," Wertheim continued.

Kyrgios himself downplayed the 'second serve' comment later, but by then, many fans were calling for ESPN to remove him from their US Open coverage team.

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Nick Kyrgios did not render an apology for his seemingly derogatory post; instead, the Aussie suggested that fans got "triggered" needlessly

Nick Kyrgios (Image via Getty)

After realizing that his comment had sparked significant controversy, Nick Kyrgios responded to how fans had interpreted it. In a separate post on X, the 29-year-old seemed to gloat about his perceived "power," suggesting that fans were getting 'triggered' to an innocuous remark.

"Don’t you think it’s hilarious how quickly people get triggered 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 with a couple words, or emojis…. Too much power," he wrote.

Despite loud calls for Kyrgios to be shown the door by ESPN, the sports broadcasting giant stuck with him for the remainder of the US Open. On the tennis front, though, it's fair to say that Jannik Sinner had the last laugh, as the Italian stormed to a straight-set win over home favorite Taylor Fritz in the final.