"Ridiculous" - Nick Kyrgios questions Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni's Jannik Sinner support after Italian's 'no fault' doping verdict

Nick Kyrgios recently called out Rafael Nadal's former coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, after the latter defended Jannik Sinner failing two doping tests in March. Kyrgios' social media post asked whether the Spanish coach would have said similar things if the controversy had happened around the Australian.

Last week, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) disclosed that Sinner had tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, five months ago. However, the World No. 1 escaped a provisional ban as the ITIA found the 23-year-old bore "no fault or negligence" for the presence of the drug in his system.

This decision has since been questioned by many tennis pros in the last week but Toni Nadal has voiced a different opinion. The 63-year-old wrote in his column for 'El Pais' that Sinner would never "seek any advantage" over the rest of the field by using illegal substances and praised the Italian's character at length.

"It is absolutely clear to me that the Italian player does not want to commit any infraction, and even more so, not to seek any advantage through the use of prohibited substance," Nadal wrote in his column. "I know the player well enough to be able to say without a shadow of a doubt that he is one of the most correct and well-mannered guys on the circuit. For me it is unthinkable that he could act in an unfair manner."

The outspoken Kyrgios, who has been one of the staunchest critics of the decision regarding Sinner recently, took seeming exception to the Spaniard's comments, going by his reply on X (formerly Twitter).

Kyrgios wrote:

"If this was me do you think Toni Nadal would come out and defend me? Players know that I ain’t about cheating. Ridiculous."

---

Nick Kyrgios: Jannik Sinner should be gone for 2 years, his performance was enhanced

Jannik Sinner looks at the French Open 2024 | Getty

Jannik Sinner's case first drew the ire of Nick Kyrgios on August 20, the day on which the ITIA revealed that the Italian had tested positive for Clostebol. The World No. 1 subsequently claimed in his statement that his physio Giacomo Naldi had inadvertently used a cream on him that contained the banned substance.

The Aussie didn't seem convinced by this reasoning, taking to X to express his disapproval:

"Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance...,"Kyrgios wrote. "You should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice."

Kyrgios, meanwhile, hasn't played pro tennis since suffering a wrist injury last July. Following a commentary stint at the Wimbledon Championships, he is currently working as a commentator for ESPN at the 2024 US Open.