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Nick Kyrgios reveals it was very difficult for him to land endorsement deals early in his career just because he was portrayed as “a villain.” Kyrgios, 28, started his career in a very impressive way as he defeated Rafael Nadal en route to reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2014.
The following year, Kyrgios also beat the great Roger Federer in an epic Madrid Masters match. While Kyrgios’ tennis qualities were evident, his occasional outbursts and meltdowns were also drawing attention, and that didn’t sit well with some.
“I’ve got a lot of endorsements and stuff. With tennis, that hasn’t always been easy to be honest. They’ve painted me as a villain for a long time in my career. When really, I was like smashing a racket.
I could play a 4-hour match and the match would be so high quality. For 5 seconds I broke a racket. That’s all they would focus on. It was super hard for a long part of my career to try and get deals. People were like ‘This guy’s too volatile.’ I’m like ‘I’m swearing.’ That’s all I’m doing.
Stuff like that. I feel like now I’m definitely more embraced. I feel like they’re actually rooting for me to do well,” Kyrgios said on the Hotboxin’ podcast with Mike Tyson, via The Tennis Letter.
Nick Kyrgios says it used to be hard for him to get endorsements because he was painted as a villain:
“I’ve got a lot of endorsements & stuff.
With tennis, that hasn’t always been easy to be honest. They’ve painted me as a villain for a long time in my career. When really, I was… pic.twitter.com/VL9vE9SWz3 — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 13, 2023
Kyrgios is undoubtedly one of the most popular tennis players
Throughout his career, Kyrgios has faced criticism and scrutiny for his actions.
But when it comes to selling out stadiums, Kyrgios is one of the best in the business. Whenever Kyrgios needs a wildcard, tournaments gladly give out one to the Australian. With his style of tennis and personality, Kyrgios simply draws attention and his matches never lack entertainment.
That’s something that makes Kyrgios different and that’s why tournaments are always thrilled when he is signed up for their tournament. Unfortunately for Kyrgios, he was limited to just one tournament this season due to knee and wrist injuries. Kyrgios is hoping to be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
