What Now? with Trevor Noah - Nick Kyrgios [VIDEO]

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

Trevor is joined by tennis champion Nick Kyrgios, who is known both for his prodigious talent and his “bad boy” reputation. They discuss how Nick feels about that label, the challenges he's faced on the road, and finding a kindred spirit in Naomi Osaka. Trevor and Nick also nerd out on gaming, and talk about what Nick's girlfriend thinks of his new OnlyFans account. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Okay, I'm ready if you're ready. Yeah. Yeah, just a quick... Happy... Sorry. Oh, okay. Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. I really fucked that up.

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Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca Please play responsibly. Happy Nick Curious Day, everybody. Happy Nick Curious Day. happy nick curious day everybody happy nick curious day and you know i was thinking about this i was thinking about how sports have a personality the sport is the way it is and for a long time that's how the sport sees itself so tennis is a perfect example right you have a sport where initially it was very calm, very rich English people wearing white

clothes and they would hit the ball to each other and they would politely clap. Bravo, Michael. Bravo. Bravo. Great job. And in every sport, there's always somebody who comes along who shakes things up. It's not just like who they are, but it's how they play. It's how the game sees them

it's how they see the game you know i think of it in golf it was tiger woods obviously you know i remember the the fraud do you do you remember how crazy people got when tiger woods did the fist pump after he won like people i remember that being a scandal in golf people were like is that is that for golf should that be something that people do in golf. People were like, is that for golf? Should that be something that people do in golf? I don't know if he should be. This guy is, they made it seem like Tiger Woods did a drive-by shooting on the golf course. I know nothing about golf,

and that is absolutely burned into my brain, that image of him. And I know nothing about that sport. And that's why he's so important to the sport because Tiger Woods basically brought, I mean, mean just let's put it this way he brought a relative amount of swag to the game of golf he brought he's super swaggy for golf let's put it that way and I think every sport has that person they come in and everyone who's like traditionalist you know complains about the person who comes in because of what they do but nick kyrgios is that player in tennis if you hate tennis or if you think it's boring you love nick

kyrgios and if you love tennis then you'll have an opinion on nick kyrgios because this kid came into the game and i and i say kid purposefully because when Nick Hira started playing tennis, he came in as a teenager. No one expected anything from him. He was playing in Australia. He didn't even play tennis from like the youngest age. Like people normally start when they're like two years old. Nick didn't really do that. He didn't really focus on the game in the same way. He comes in, he's playing against Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest of all time at one of the biggest tournaments ever. He beats him, and everyone in the world is like, wait, who's this kid? And then he just proceeds to play the game the way nobody has ever played it.

I mean, he hits the ball behind his back. He hits it through his legs. And then also, he's got a lot of personality. He reminds me in many ways of John McEnroe, but less rude. i know that sounds like a crazy thing to say about john mackinrow and i liked him for that but like john mackinrow had that like your mother you god damn god you know what i mean which i loved but nick is just like he's just he's an emotional player who's changing the sport. And one of the biggest things he's changing in the sport is the fact that he seems to not care. He plays tennis and then he goes home. He has almost no passion for it, which really pisses people off, by the way.

There's a lot of people who are like, you should be grateful, young man, for having. And he's just like, nope, it's my job. And that's it. All you have to do is appreciate a good villain he's not a villain but like in the game of tennis there are heroes or people that are like held to that standard and then nick comes in and people can't deal with it and i live for it live for it he's amazing he's amazing can i tell you can i tell you what what makes nick so amazing in my opinion is that like any great villain that is written into a story

you actually come to find that they're not the quote-unquote bad guy like i i often think whenever i'm watching a movie or i'm reading a really well-written story, there's a moment in the story where you go, oh, wait, is this the villain? And I think in many ways, Nick Kyrgios is painted as the villain. But the more you get to know him, his life and the sport, you're like, huh, maybe tennis is the villain. Yeah. It's kind of like how Disney recently has been reframing villains like maleficent gets your own story and you realize hey she had a reason to spurn that little baby in the bassinet and nick has his reasons for you know making people clutch their pearls at the u.s open

yeah yeah so i'm really really fascinated to speak to him because one, he's a maverick in tennis. Two, he's one of the most genuine people you'll ever have a conversation with. And three, I think the sport needs him if it hopes to survive what is going to be one of its biggest transitions from the legends like Roger Federer and Nadal and Djokovic and all of these legends, as they slowly age out of the game,

there's only going to be one name that gets new people in to watch tennis, and it's going to be Nick Kyrgios. So I'm really excited. I don't even want to waste more of your time. Let's jump into it. Nick Kyrgios. Nick Kyrgios what's going on my dude nothing much just touched down back in Australia and spending time

with some my fam haven't seen you in a little bit and yeah just chilling you've been watching the NBA playoffs

well not the playoffs it's weird the in-season tournament you've been watching it yeah loved it yeah watched it thought it was a great idea.

Great idea for the league. It's funny. I saw Kevin Durant. He said he hated the idea when he first saw it come out. And then even after he lost, he was like, this was the most exciting tournament they've played in a long time. Yeah, that tends to be how it is. I mean, athletes, we get pretty stuck in our ways.

So we don't like change. And then I guess when it actually benefits the league, we find out. It was a good idea, I think. Who's your team in the NBA? Because I know you've been a huge fan for a long time. Boston through and through? I'm a big Boston guy.

Why Boston? I watch every single game. I don't know. In 2005, I picked up my first video game and picked the Boston Celtics ever since Angel's been a religious fan. It's always interesting seeing how people become a fan of a team. I think I became a fan of many individual players

in football because of like, you know, European football, soccer, because of video games like playing FIFA. Yeah.

What are you, what are you playing right now? You said you, you video, you game. Yeah. Call of Duty, Fortnite,

Pokemon, everything. I'm just like, I'm obsessed. I'm the biggest guy. How good are you? I'm very good. Like very, very good., everything. I'm just obsessed. I'm the biggest guy. How good are you? I'm very good. Like very, very good.

Yeah. Like we call them sweaties or sweats. Oh, wait, you're a sweat? I'm a fucking sweat. Yeah. What's your loadout on Call of Duty? I'm trying to actually, I'm just going to move this. I'm going to show you my Pace A right now.

Right. Look at my Pace A, bro. Oh, nice. Is that water cooled? What is that? Yeah. It's like, it's just very over the top. And look, you can see. That's beautiful. Oh, I see. Right. Look at my pace, bro. Oh, nice. Is that water cooled? What is that? Yeah. It's like, it's,

it's, it's just very over the top and look, you can see. That's beautiful. Oh, I see. Okay. Yeah.

You've got the G force in there. I like that. Like I just customized CPU. You've got the sweat too, bro. No, no, I'm not a sweat.

I wish I was. You are, bro. You are. You've got that anonymous, anonymous name online. No, I wish I was a wish. I'm like 12-year-old kid.

Yeah, you are. I wish I was a sweat. I only started playing Warzone in the pandemic. I've always been like a FIFA player. Warzone's fun, though. No, Warzone's great. Warzone's great. How good is it?

Yeah, but then once my KD went above 1.1, then it stopped being fun because I got put in lobbies with sweats. Yeah, sweaty. And then it stopped being fun because I got put in lobbies with sweats. Yeah, sweaty. And then it's not funny anymore. That's so funny, bro. That's so good. Yeah, then it's not funny anymore. It's not cool.

Now I'm just like, oh, no. I want to be in like the low KD. Yeah, just the normal, the standard. 0.45 is a good game to be playing. That's like a nice day you know a nice adventure so funny was there a tennis person you you were a fan of when you got into the sport because your story is interesting in that like it seems like from everything i hear about you everything i've read about you it doesn't seem like nick kyrgios was that into sport until he

got into sport is this true or is this just a myth? Yeah. Yeah, I didn't really like sport that much growing up. And then I think my mom eventually saw I was pretty chubby and I wasn't active that much as a kid. And she was kind of like, all right, let's start doing some stuff. She just took me down to the local tennis center. And fair to say, I hated it. I didn't like tennis at all. And then I loved basketball, fell in love with basketball.

Yeah. And then played both. But I didn't really have any role models either growing up, like in the sporting world. Like I didn't really watch that much sport. I was like big into video games, actually took like my studies really seriously. And then, yeah, just had no real role models. And then I kind of fell in love with basketball players now as I was playing tennis and there were two conflicting sports. Obviously I've been absolutely shredded for, you know, my personality or the way I go about things in tennis because it's a very, you know, in the box type of sport. And, and yeah, so I didn't really have any role models, but yeah, I guess that's been part of the journey. So it's been pretty cool though. Yeah. It's an, it's an interesting journey to go on because like, how does somebody get into a sport?

How did they become good at the sport? And why that sport? Like, I, I don't think people understand how unlikely it was for you to get into tennis, you know? Yeah.

It was very, you were what? 13, 14 when you got into the, into the sport. Uh, I played at seven, seven years old was my,

when I picked up, when I picked up a racket. Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. So why, why tennis? Did your mom, did your mom ever say why up a racket, yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah, so it's basically all about tennis. Did your mom ever say why tennis? Well, in Australia, tennis is like one of our biggest sports.

It's cricket and tennis. What about Aussie rules? There was no Aussie rules? Yeah, I know, but I can't really. I can't buy into a sport that's not played out of Australia. I don't know. I think it's a bit of a joke, to be honest. On the record.

Wait, wait. Who was your biggest player back then? I'm trying to think of Australian tennis stars. Like Newark, Pat Rafter. Yeah, okay. We had a pretty rich culture in it. And then my local tennis center is literally two minutes away. So I guess it was easy for them. But I absolutely hated it.

What did you hate about the sport? What was the thing you hated most? I just didn't like it. I just didn't like.... I just didn't feel like I could express myself the way I wanted to. And then I realized that I could later on in my career and really shit their people. Right. Yeah. Just look.

I mean, look, I didn't really grow up in a rich family or anything. So I knew I was very soon to realize that it was a way to kind of help my family and help my friends and provide for my people and build a life for far beyond myself. So that's when I realized that, you know, that was the kind of journey that I had to kind of do. Because like to say I would make it at NBA, I don't think I would. So it was just an easier, it was like an easier route for me, I guess, to make it did that did that add a lot of pressure to it though like when you're playing a sport that's not just a sport it's something that supports your family can lift your family out of the place there and i mean that doesn't that come

with an extra amount of pressure that the other kids don't have uh definitely i think for sure but i i guess the cool thing about my childhood is i didn't know any different my mom and dad always made me feel like i had enough and i had the i had the best childhood like i didn't know any different my mum and dad always made me feel like I had enough and I had the I had the best childhood like I didn't know that I was you know didn't have a lot um so but I got hit with a lot of pressure and expectation early as soon as I was 17 18 I kind of broke onto the scene that's where I mean Australia kind of put this I mean like the weight on my shoulders for an 18 year old I think think, you know, to look back at it, I think I did pretty well, um, with dealing with it, but it's not normal for someone that young to deal with the spotlight and the fame and the pressure, especially with social media and all

this pressure that comes with it. It's like mental, mental, like people wonder why I am the way I am. I'm like, it's just the, my experiences of what I went through kind of, you know, made me a bit, like my screws are a bit loose, I think. You know, I always wonder that. I remember talking to some friends about this, about the age we grew up in and then the age that people grow up in now. And I was like, do you ever think – do you ever take for granted – I remember when Justin Bieber was blowing up.

And, I mean, Justin Bieber was obviously a lot younger than me. And I would think to myself, I'd go, we're judging this kid. But if you took away his fame, he's a child. Do you know what I mean? It was literally like news headlines about a child. And I would say to my friends all the time, I'd go, do you remember the amount of shit that we would get up to at that age? But there was no journalism. There's no reports are coming after you.

You're just a kid getting up to shit. It between you your parents and maybe the school you know but i i can't imagine what it was like for you at that age being seen as not just a professional athlete but as you say like a like a bastion of australian sport like one minute you just nick and the next thing you know you know you're the face of tennis in australia and and quickly in the world by the way yeah i mean look i was it was it was hard because i actually was just a normal kid like i was still at school i had my school friends i would just be doing normal kid things and then i would live this alternate life of like carrying the burden of australian sport trying to win a grand slam playing federer playing a darling i'm And I'm just like, I didn't really take it very serious.

And I guess that's what I kind of got smashed for was like, oh, you're doing this and you're lucky to do this. And I never saw it as I was lucky to do it. Like I worked every single day to get to where I was. So people are like, oh, you're so extremely blessed to be there, which I am. Like I guess I'm not saying like a bit of luck was needed to get there as well.

So like I just picked my hand in a hat and pulled out like, oh, like professional tennis player. That's why I just can't stand people like, oh, your life must be amazing. Like, it's like, bro, it was like a lot of hard yards to get here. But yeah, it's just like, it was crazy. I just like, I didn't take myself seriously enough. Like I saw my name on the list of like Federer and Nadal, like these gods of sport. And I just saw like, I didn't take myself seriously enough. Like, I saw my name on the list of, like, Federer and Nadal, like, these gods of sport, and I just saw my name there.

I was just like, what a joke. Like, I was like, it's all a joke. Were they your heroes growing up, or was it still all basketball for you? It was just, you were just, you were, like, in an office, it sounds like to me. It's like you worked at, like, an accounting firm. Essentially, you know what I mean? It's like a job.

Yeah, I was just at school. I was just chilling, like, and then i just like started beating these players and then i just i guess in a way it was good but like it wasn't good because then i kind of lost a bit of respect for like because people idolize these people and i was like yeah i beat them at 18 and 19 i was like well anyone can do it then like if i can do it anyone can do it and then people like oh you should be and then it was like the rat, anyone can do it then. Like if I can do it, anyone can do it. And then people like, oh, you should be. And then it was like the rat race of things like, oh, you should win our Grand Slams or you should. And I was like, that was never my goal.

It wasn't my intention to go out there and be like Roger. It was like to show people that someone like me from the small town could go out there and compete and be some of these like, I mean, gods, in my opinion. I think it's hilarious. I remember having a conversation with Roger Federer about you. Some of these like, I mean, gods, in my opinion, I think it's hilarious. I remember having a conversation with Roger Federer about you. And it was actually, it was Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Bill Gates was hosting a charity tennis tournament in Cape Town in South Africa. And we were just chatting about the whole game.

And your name came up. And man, I wish you could see the eyes of the players when they're talking about you. The one thing that Roger kept on saying, which was almost frustrating to him when he said it was, he's like, this kid is effortless. He's like, this guy does, he was like what Nick does in tennis when he's not trying is what all of us work our asses off to try to do. You like, do you, do you get that from the other athletes in the sport? Cause I mean, let's forget about the press and everybody for a moment.

Like people write out their asses all the time. Everybody thinks they know a sport from the outside. Everyone has opinions, but I always find if you want some of the truest opinions, you go into the sport, you talk to the people who actually do it every single day and they'll give you a different understanding like did you get that feeling from from from the other tennis pros that they felt like you came with something special just in the way you the way you struck the ball the way you understood the ball the way you played the game

oh yeah definitely i mean i got told a lot from other athletes and Roger and stuff. Like, yeah, like, you know, past players were saying, like, oh, he's the most talented. And then I guess, I don't know when I kind of lost, not lost interest, but I guess kind of just, I didn't take it that seriously. I never really fully bought in, I think, to the process of, like, tennis being, like, really, really important. Like, I still today sit here and I don't think it's that important. Like I know it's not, it's not number one on your list. It's not, it's just not,

it's just like, it's been a great vehicle for me to meet you, for instance, to me, all these beautiful people, all these cultures and live this life. But I never really said like, Oh,

like I never, I'm not going to introduce myself as, Oh, I'm Nick Kyrgios tennis player. I've done this, this and this. Like I just never really thought it was that serious where and like you look at Roger and Novak and Nadal like I'm not saying they're doing it wrong like they've bought

into the process and they've become you know champions and whatever but I just think I'm just not that personality like I love gaming I love hanging out with my friends I love feeling normal I love going to get a coffee like I love and then if I'm playing some pro tennis on the side that's great but like it's like I'm not willing to sacrifice these other things that make me really really happy you know it's funny you you didn't just play tennis in like one of the whitest sports you also grew up in one of the whitest countries like i've been to australia a bunch doing shows i think australia is one of the most fun countries i've ever been to amazing yeah but damn australia doesn't know how to talk about race or anything that is not like stock standard white Australian.

They're pretty racist down here. You can just say it. Like, it's okay. You're just like working around me. I'm not going to be that guy. I'm not going to go out there and just like, no, no, no. No, no. Hey, man, it's not my country to say that about.

It is very. I'll tell you. I'll tell you firsthand. I've dealt with it. It's fine. It's horrific down here. Have you seen a change over the years?

I think it's getting worse. I think it's getting worse everywhere, to be honest. I don't know. The world, the world frustrates me. The world frustrates me.

In what way? They just, everyone's just trying to just split everyone up. Like, humans actually are capable of doing some good things when they work together, but no one wants to work together for some reason. Everyone's just putting each other down. I agree with a lot of that.

Everyone's just trying to separate everyone. It's either this or that. It's like, why can't people have different opinions and just respect that? I don't know. It's so weird. I just try not to think about it because it drives me insane. Do you think some of that came to you from growing up in a mixed family? Because for me, one of the main things I had to do growing up,

so my dad's Swiss, my mom is Pasa from South Africa. I grew up in South Africa, but I had to learn different languages, different accents, different cultures. So in my household, there no like right way to do something there were just different ways to do the thing to get to the right outcome does that does that make sense i always grew up in a world where i was like i was like um i mean i think i'm right but maybe you're right from your point of view and you know i think growing up with my household there was yeah i think that's yeah most aussies like really aussie families they don't they're not like super

family orientated and they're like we're like me like i speak to my parents pretty much every day they send me videos when i'm traveling like i have to be around people who are really close to their family and and and like i just can't i don't know like some of my friends like oh i've been speaking to my mom in like three weeks i'm'm like, bro, I actually need my, I need to be away from you. Like, that's not normal. Like, that's not normal. Your mom seems like a really interesting woman. Like, first of all, I read, and you never know how much of this is true.

I read that she's like a princess. Yeah, she was part of the royal family in Malaysia, but I don't know what royalty it was because we were broke. I would have loved her to be royal i would have um but yeah she was uh part of a royal family in malaysia and she came to australia um and yeah how the the story of how my mom met my dad was crazy because my dad came by boat from Greece when he was six. So just a crazy, just a crazy story. Like, I don't know. They both came from crazy backgrounds.

Yeah, that is, I don't think I know many Malaysian-Greek mixes. Yeah, it's just odd. My dad just came by boat. My mom basically, I don't know how my mom came. She probably swam. I don't know what kind of form of transport she had.

Yeah, right. Yeah, wild. So I don't know. Who's more of transport she had. Yeah, right. Yeah, wild. So I don't know. Who's more of their culture, your mom or your dad? Like is your dad more Greek than your mom is Malaysian? Oh, no, they're both super, like super in their roots. Like my dad's super Greek, like meets every old Greek stereotype you've ever. Yeah.

So what, wait, so what does he call, does he call you Nikos? Does he call you, what does he call you? They call meico's does he call you what does he they call me nick but nico you know nico but like he will like greeks never play never old school greeks never pay full price for anything like he'll bargain we'll be like at a jewelry store or anything he's like trying to bargain my dad can't do that here um my mom is like she's we got a lot of relatives from malaysia and my dad's yeah it's greek roots but that's the cool thing about it. People can be successful from anywhere, literally. And it's cool. My roots are pretty special.

We're going to continue this conversation right after this short break. What day of the week do you look forward to most? Well, it should be Wednesday. Ahem, Wednesday. Why, you wonder? Whopper Wednesday, of course. When you can get a great deal on a whopper. Flame grilled and made your way.

And you won't want to miss it. So make every Wednesday a whopper Wednesday. Only at Burger King, where you rule. I remember watching you at a tennis tournament once and I was watching you play and I was chatting to a friend of mine and he was like, Why do you think Nick doesn't like tennis? And I remember there was a there was a really cool interview that I saw once was a Tottenham Hotspur football player, right in England. And he was I think he was left back or right back at the time and his name his name slips my mind, but I will never forget. They were interviewing

him about the game. And he said, Oh, I don't watch. He said, I don't watch football. He said, I don't watch football. I don't care about football. I don't have a favorite team. This is just what I do for, for a job. And, and the people were almost offended. They were like, how can you say that you play in the premier league. This is amazing. And he said, hey, was your dad a fan of the company he worked for? He's like, was your dad a fan of the job? Was your mom a fan of the place where she worked? He's like, it's my job. I get some people have it as a passion, but it's my job.

And when we were watching you play, I said to my friend, just watching you and your vibe, I said, I feel like Nick Kyrg curious is a team player stuck in an individual sport. That's what I feel sometimes when I watch you. Yeah. I mean, I grew up playing basketball. I love, I have a much preferred team sports,

team environments, big time. I love losing together and winning together and having that camaraderie and being on the road and all that. I prefer more than like, and I, people like, yeah, but what about when you win? I'm like, yeah, it feels good. But I just like, I prefer to just be my,

I don't know, I'm just a big team guy. I don't know what it is, but that's just me. Like I can't. Tennis players are really selfish. You didn't see it when you played in the doubles. I mean, it seemed like you had more fun playing doubles than you've ever had playing singles. Yeah, time i love playing that was much a bit less pressure but at the same time i just feel like it's more rewarding to do do it with someone else um yeah i just love i love

doubles man doubles is a lot of fun did you did you grow up with with uh with your siblings how many siblings you have yeah i got uh two siblings. Yeah, we grew up together, yeah. Right. I sometimes wonder if it's that. You know, I talk to a lot of athletes, and especially athletes in the individual sports, the ones who grew up as only children almost didn't mind being in an individual sport

because that was the only place they got to see other kids. And then people who grew up in homes where they had like a bustling family and siblings, they felt lonely when they went out on the road. Because tennis, I've heard, is one of the loneliest sports. I don't know if you'd agree. Yeah, it definitely is. I mean, especially me being from Australia, you know, early in my career,

I was traveling like six, seven months of the year. Yeah. Hotel to hotel, week in, week out, not seeing family and friends. It was hard. Yeah, definitely. Especially at that young. Like it's a hard transition. And no sports like that.

Like every sport kind of has a routine and you kind of know where you're going, where tennis is like you might lose and then you got to fly to the next place or you might win, have to hang around and you're playing. You don't know what time you're playing. You don't know how long a match could go for. There's a lot of variables. That's why I think Novak is the best athlete in the world because his ability to adapt is like like no other like every bet like every one of the other athletes in the world like has

no like they know when they're going to start they know when they're going to finish they know how many games are going to play where like novak like he's got to go to asia different time zone different food different diet and then you go to europe and then different food again different time zone doesn't know when he's going to play and then america and then australia and it's like how does this guy adapt to every single scenario put in front of him and still come out the best is is is incredible yeah i actually i actually never thought about the fact that in tennis you don't know how long a match is it could be one it could be an hour and a half it could be five hours so it's like i've played matches that have gone under an hour and a half. It could be five hours. So it's like I play matches that have gone under an hour

and then I've played for two hours. I mean, and then I play for five hours nearly. And then I might have to travel across the world to play the same thing again with a different diet. It's crazy. Tennis is nuts. So that's why I think Novak for me, people don't really know that about tennis though.

And the schedule, you don't know when you're going to start playing. You're just followed by. So a match starts at 11 and then you're just followed by so it's like there's no direct time when you're going to start you know when you're going to start playing half the time like more than half time you don't even know when you're going to start so like you can't you don't know when to eat you don't know when to like you're gonna when you're gonna finish it's hard to plan it's insane yeah this doesn't seem ideal and it seems even less ideal if it's not your ultimate passion in life exactly it's stressful yeah when you do stuff that you yeah i mean it's it's definitely caused a lot of stress

in my life but again i can understand that it's opened up a lot of doors for me as well yeah no look i think everything in life has a has a blessing and a curse attached to it you know um i remember there was a time in stand-up comedy when, as comedians, we would talk a lot about this backstage. Comedy, I would say before social media and in many moments, comedy was a really lonely, and it can be a very lonely profession in that we're on the road. When you start off, you're by yourself. You've got a bag. You fly to some random place somewhere in the world. You comedy there for a week and then you fly somewhere else it's similar to tennis just you know there's not the crowds aren't the same and there was a period

where a lot of comedians were committing suicide and we'd always we'd always hear these stories you'd be like yo did you hear about mike what happened to be like yeah mike mike committed suicide in a hotel in some random place in the world. And it was always like the same sad story on the road by themselves. And then, you know, that was it. That was the last time we'd hear of that comedian. And we would talk about this and we say it's such a solitary experience. It's such a solitary existence.

And at some point you go, what am I even doing this for? You know? And, and, and, and when I've, I've seen, you've been very public about like the mental aspect of the game and which I've appreciated by the way, you know, yourself, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, it's like the first generation of superstar athletes who aren't afraid to say, Hey, I put myself before the sports. Yeah, I mean, it's important because I was close to, I was in a very dark time and I was close to, I was feeling the exact same way.

I was like, what am I doing this for? I hate, because I was two completely different people. I was like Nick Kyrgios and then I had to turn into someone else. And that was the only thing that people cared about was that Nick that I had to turn to turn into you know and and that entertainer and then when i was normal no one gave a shit so i was like this is tough like i was like i'm tired and i'm doing it week in week out and i was alone on the road and i was like i you know drinking drugs partying and being out until like 5 a.m then playing the next day and it was just like it was a big dark depression that i was in and no one like just because I was winning

tennis matches, it seemed to just be okay. Everyone was like, okay, he's fine then. But I was like, that's what's dangerous is that people just will get up and continually go because they have to go, but they're really not okay. And then Naomi was the first kind of person that I was seeing taking time away from the sport. Like she stepped away from the French Open. Everyone was like, oh, how could you? Like it's a privilege to be there. I'm like, bro, she. Like she stepped away from the French Open. Everyone was like, oh, how could you?

Like it's a privilege to be there. I'm like, bro, she earned her right to be in the French Open. If she doesn't want to play for mental health, that's up to her. And then I saw that and that opened my eyes. I was like, holy shit, someone's actually doing it. Wow. And then because I was going through that for ages before she did it. And then I told her, I was like, you helped me because I don't know,

maybe if I kept going, like I wouldn't be here right now because that's how bad it was. And then I've just now completely shortened my schedule. I only play when I want to play. I only do what I want to do. And I was like, and then I ended up doing things with more purpose anyway.

Like this interview, like there was a time where I used to do this type of stuff and hate what I was doing. And I never even enjoyed doing things like this, but now I'm doing everything with a purpose and it ends up actually being more rewarding so it's like athletes doing that and it's when I reached out when I put it on social media the best thing about it is people still reach out to me today when they're just like oh can I you know have

some advice and I get people's numbers and I talk to them on the phone and I whatsapp I don't even know these people but wow I just help them. And it's like, that's the coolest thing about it. Like just opening up. I mean, I'm helping so many people. Did you have anyone that you leaned on either inside or outside of the sport when you were going through it? Because you're this young kid who blows up.

The world is on your shoulders. You are considered a professional. I mean, before, you know, you're even an adult, really. Like, did you have anyone you leaned on was there anyone who really helped you through these tough times it was such a shock to the system I think for my family and my friends because no one had ever done something like I'd done like it was just it was just not heard of that anyone around where I'm from like blew up globally and did something and it was just hard no I didn't

I didn't have anyone they had no idea what I was going through they had you know it was just like oh you're making good money so that's it it's just like there was so much more stuff that came with it than that that really affected me because I was such a normal person like I wasn't like I hate the fame I hate all that like I hate I think it's a joke um and I hated it and then I had no one to kind of lean on and then i i had some people like even andy murray in the locker room was like bro are you okay like i had some other people like kind of seeing like what i was going through and then i got i seeked help and i just got myself out of it to be honest but i didn't really and

that was hard that was really hard i didn't feel every time i tried to confide in someone that i knew they had no idea what i was going through so it was really hard when I didn't feel, every time I tried to confide in someone that I knew, they had no idea what I was going through. So it was really hard. When you were working with Naomi Osaka. Yeah. You know, I saw a few clips of you guys going viral, you know, you and her talking about some aspects of the game. She's somebody who I feel like has a natural connection with you for multiple reasons. connection with you for multiple reasons. You know, you're both, you're both these professionals who came from worlds where you were mixed, where you almost always didn't fit in, but then found a

place that you did fit in, but it wasn't necessarily your number one passion, but you're both amazingly good at it. When, when the two of you are together, like, what do you, what do you find Naomi brings out in you that you, you know, that maybe you haven't found when't found when you connected with other players early on in your career? Yeah, just that she's really struggled to fit in. I think the sport, I find comfort when I... She was on my show as well. Yeah. And we had a really good chat and she had a lot of questions for me

in that sense. She's like, how do you deal with it? Because you've had a lot of backlash. And I think we both just find that common ground. We're so different. When we came into the sport we were like the black sheep in like and we just really trying to find our way and we had a sea of fans but then we had a people see of people that didn't like the way we went about things and it was like she was like really like we both don't give enough credit to ourselves i think like she's

won four grand slams she's been everyone and i I'm like, you do realize you've achieved a lot. She's like, ah, like I've achieved a little bit. And I'm like, we both really struggle to give ourselves credit. Yeah. I think we just, we kind of find comfort in each other because it's like we're almost, yeah, we're like, I feel like if I had a comparison on the women's tour, it would be her. You know, I haven't achieved anything of what she's achieved you know she's achieved three times as much but it's like i just i can see the

way she she really looks she looks uneasy at the courts like i see her walking around i'm like she's just not in her environment she's walking with headphones on trying to disassociate and i'm just like that's me but like she's just really really internal her coping mechanisms to go in her shell where mine is actually to just be be like be crazy, where it's like, that's the only difference. But yeah, I've learned a lot from her as well, which is good. Sometimes I think to myself, you know, when I watch athletes break into a sport, one of the things that plays through my head is the understanding of the sports culture versus that athlete's culture. You know, in England, for instance, a lot of people don't know that like footballers are considered like from the working class and lower class. It's not like a prestigious sport in the country, you know.

Rugby is up there. Cricket's up there. That's considered, okay, you are. That's the sport that the prince would play, for instance. And you see it change around the world. Tennis, from the time I was in school in South Africa, tennis was the sport that like the richer kids could play. Like I remember seeing the price of a Wilson racket. Like when I played tennis, I had one of those, the wooden, you know what I mean?

Our school gave us those wooden ones with the long handle. That's all I could play with. And then like these kids would come to school and they'd have like their Wilsons and they would have like all the kits and everything. There was no dream of affording that. So we couldn't continue playing tennis. But because of who's in the sport, there's also a cultural aspect that the sport dictates. And if you don't follow that culture,'re seen as being you know a a bad boy a rowdy person a like half of the things people criticize you for i sometimes go you

realize if nick was playing another sport this would just be an athlete that's what people would say yeah you know i mean i've had i've had conversations like if i played nfl nba like i'd be the i'd probably be the like the cleanest and nicest guy in the locker room yeah they'd be like quiet, Nick. That's what they say. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Because that's how I am. I'm actually very internal and I'm an introvert when I'm off the court. Like I don't like, like doing too much, um, and saying too much. So it's like, yeah, that, I mean, what you nailed it on the head, like the things I'm doing, like throwing a racket or like, like a snippet of throwing a racket. So, but the thing about it is like i play for four hours and they choose to show a clip that goes for like five seconds and then broadcast it over the biggest media platforms in the world and then obviously that's how you're going to brainwash the

majority of people that haven't watched the four-hour match but they've watched the five little things like oh how could you do this every day it's like what the are you talking about like and that becomes a narrative and that just grows legs and then it's like oh he does it all it's like bro you guys don't know who i am at all and it's like yeah tennis is a white privileged sport that's how it was when i i was like the first i guess there was a couple in the sport before me but there wasn't many and now there's so many there's tiafo osaka yeah shelton kiriot like it's amazing and it's like i feel i don't feel as alone and as alienated anymore as i did when i came up because i was like i I walked in the locker room.

I was like, bro, there is no one here that I fucking at all. I was like, what is this place? It was cold. No one talked with each other. It was no, there was no like friendships. I was like, this is brutal. And then now it's like, I walk in there and you see people on the court, like they've got passion.

They've got personality, their culture. They're bringing different sides of the sport. Now we embrace it. And I'm like, dude, when I came through, I was like, you guys painted me as if I was like a murderer. Like that's how bad it was. Like there were some articles that I was like, all I'm doing is just being me and bringing my personality to the sport.

And I'm like, absolutely. And it's kind of given me a sour taste of tennis, to be honest. Like I don't think about tennis in a good way. I think it's a very shallow and they haven't embraced personalities. And it's dangerous because some people like me, it was hurtful and I did struggle with it. And I know in other sports like NBA or rugby or soccer, there's so many different personalities.

Everyone's kind of – that's how it should be. Like, it's just like, we're so past like just, ah, yeah, tennis is, I hate it. Like, honestly. You know, I understand why you hate it, but in a selfish way, as a fan of the sport, I am grateful for you. I hate that you went through those experiences, but in a selfish way, I am grateful for you. I hate that you went through those experiences, but in a selfish way, I'm grateful for you because I don't think tennis realized how much it needs Nick Kyrgios.

I don't think tennis realized how much it needs to be unpredictable, how much it needs to be personality, how much it needs to be... When you look at the tennis stadiums themselves, you go from country to country. I've only watched a Grand Slam in New York and I've watched one in Paris, so Roland Garros. And I'm trying to think if I've done one more, maybe, I'm not sure. But all of the stadiums have different personalities.

And the commentators in the tennis world celebrate that. They go, oh, Roland Garros, this is the attitude. And oh, Wimbledon is very posh. And New York is very lively and fun. And then as soon as you get a different one on court, it's like, oh, why are you acting like that? Exactly. I never understood why they didn't celebrate that as a concept. I look at how John McEnroe brought people into the sport because of how crazy he was.

Yep. Yeah, he was nuts. And then, yeah, he got, I mean, mean i feel like i mean then and then he retired and now he's an absolute legend it's like oh you should have embraced him while he was here type thing but i feel like that's for me i feel like now i'm getting more embraced when i'm getting to like the later stages of my career and it's like yeah would have helped if i got embraced earlier on because i probably wouldn't have obviously had those dark periods in time right i probably would have been in better physical condition.

I probably would have adored the sport more and tried a little bit harder to get the best out of myself. But now, I mean, like I look back at it and it just caused so much dark and negative and stress. And me and my family, like, yeah, it just wasn't a nice, I don't look back at it as a nice period of my life. And I think people always ask me like, oh, how long do you want to play for? I was like, I'll probably play for another year or two and they're like oh why not i'm just like because i don't look back at it and smile i look back at it and i'm like it it makes me almost sad and upset of my career that's just something that it is what it is like i can't change it but it's it's not what you want to hear from an athlete that's dedicated his whole life towards do you do you ever think of you i know this is going to sound crazy,

you should do like a party year before you leave. A what? Just have like a party year, like a party, like bring all your friends, make it as much of a party as you can before, like don't leave. All my friends can't travel like all the time. Man, you know what, let me tell you something. Once you announce it as the retirement year, they'll be a part of it, you reckon?

Yeah, they got to make it a thing. Find a sponsor. Get the sponsor to pay for their salary for a year. Make it a reality show. That'd be sick. Go out there. Go out with a bang.

I feel like, why let the sport leave you? You know what I mean? You leave the sport the way you want to leave it. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. It's actually a pretty mental idea.

Can I tell you the most fun I ever had? Like, yeah, some of the most depressing, quiet moments in my life have been, and not good quiet, have been on the road doing comedy, like a slog, exactly what you're saying. I'll be in some random rainy town in England. This was years ago in my career. It's just me in, like like a hotel room that's underground. Cause you know, some hotels, they have that somehow.

I don't know. The first floor is like under the, you know, the surface of the street. You know what I mean? And dude, and I would be so just like depressed and tired and all of it. And the one thing I do now for myself is I go, I will make my environment the biggest community possible. So if you see me on tour in India, if you see me anywhere, I'm like, yo, man, I roll with my people.

I go, the tour is almost secondary to me living my life with my people. And it's changed everything. Even the worst tour becomes the best tour. I think that's what I did last year. Like that was the best year of my life. And I kind of looked at it in a different light. I was like, okay, I'm going to look at it as like, I'm going on a holiday with my partner and my team

and then I play a bit of TESA. And then I had the best year of my life. So maybe you're right. Maybe you're onto something there. Yeah, man. I don't know. Because here's the thing, and you'll tell me if I'm wrong. It feels like you think of retiring as a moving,

you know, it doesn't feel like a constant measure. You know, when other athletes speak of retiring, so when Roger would speak about retiring, I remember him, he would always talk about his body and it was the end. I could see Roger talking about that. They would have a timeline. And I think COVID robbed him of a few years that we could have celebrated with him.

But like, when I look at you, I can see there's a lot of it that's like, it's not Nick's body. It feels like it's Nick's mind and Nick's heart that wants to take a break and get out of it. You know? Yeah. That's exactly how I feel. Like my body now is obviously, you know, I've had a couple of surgeries by 28 and like,

I never really wanted to get to a point in my career where I did that because I wanted my family one day and be active and play with them and run around. Right. But yeah, it's more so I'm just a bit like, yeah, I guess just, I don't know, there's a bit of tennis that stings every time I think about it and that's not, it's like I don't, yeah. I mean, look, I'll come back and when I'm healthy

and I'll play and I'll entertain for another year or two. But after that, I think that's it. Let's go back to, you know, when you were saying you were painted as this bad boy, I think that's it. Let's go back to, you know, when you were saying you were painted as this bad boy. I would love to know, how do you feel about the title bad boy? Do you like it? Because from the outside, sometimes people know you don't. No, I don't like it because it's like a reputation that I've had to kind of like

fight against my entire life. Just like every time I meet a person or go out in public or you know for instance my partner when i when i met her she thought i was arrogant she thought i was maniacal she thought i was like volatile she thought i was like yeah just like a bad person i was like i've just been fighting against this reputation my entire life and i'm actually the exact opposite like i don't take myself seriously at all i'm literally the calmest person you've ever met yeah i'm very low maintenance like i'm selfless i'm not selfish at all like every tennis player is like i'm like and it's been hard like people don't even hear me out and it's just like it's i hate it because it's like it's it's it's it's it's been tough

definitely but unfortunately that's really the only nick that they care about so it's like it's it's been tough definitely but unfortunately that's really the only nick that they care about so it's like it's hard i i don't know if you still do this but i remember hearing once that you coached yourself was that true yeah i haven't had a coach for like six seven years now what was was was part of that because you didn't want to be coached out of being yourself or was it just because you don't work well with a coach i guess i just think that my way is the best and no one knows me as well as i do like i'll hold myself accountable when i do something stupid no one knows my game the way i know my game i know what i need to improve on

um i know what my strengths are but also it's just a waste of money in my opinion and like these these coaches are like charging like 150 to 200 grand a year i'm like for what like you stand there and like like i do my own study like i can just go to youtube right now and look at every single per every single player's strengths and weakness study their game watch hours of film and do all that side of things tactically um i know what my technique's absolutely fine i can like i'm not going to pay someone 200 grand to just travel the world and just stand on court with me and just like oh you do this okay that's 200 grand worth of advice yeah yeah hell no like what the that's ridiculous but this is even crazier to me the fact that you win anything is even is even wilder to me

now because i'm just like you you you're an anomaly you're you're a people talk about a natural talent but you are truly an anomaly you you can't play at the highest level of any sport without a court a coach and do what you do you can you can you can you can you think so it's it's really it's simple like the biggest lie we've all been told it's not that simple it really is it's it's very simple i feel like this is Superman lifting a bus being like, it's not that hard. It's really not that hard. You just got to live with your knees. You just got to live with your legs. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. When Nick Kyrgios looks at his life apart from the game,

I know, are you still dealing with an injury now? Yes. Yep. Yeah. When you get these injuries, do you actually know when you're coming back or is it all just speculation? It just depends what kind of injury it is, obviously. Like if it's a rolled ankle, you know, but I've had some surgeries and I'm just trying to get back. There was a, you know, I had a bit of a wrist thing and it was kind of bothering my everyday life. Like I couldn't go to the bathroom. I couldn't put salt on my steak. Like it was getting to a point where I was like, okay, it was bothering my everyday life. Like I couldn't go to the bathroom. I couldn't put salt on my steak.

Like it was getting to a point where I was like, okay, it was affecting my everyday life. And it wasn't even about tennis. People were like, oh, how are you on the court? I was like, dude, it didn't even, it wasn't even on the court. Like I was like struggling to be without pain in my day life. So I had to get it done. And now I don't really have like a timeline. You know, I'm just going to come back.

I feel like I've got so much stuff that I can focus on in the meantime that it's just like i'm going to do this right take my time come back whenever i want i've got a protected ranking of 21 so i can come back and play whatever i want to play and that's it like i'm going to enjoy my life in the meantime like and enjoy it do my rehab and and that's it like i wouldn't be having this conversation with you probably if i was healthy at the moment i'd be probably because you'd be back out there doing your yeah but i'd be in a bad in a bad mood. I would be training and I'd be miserable. And then I'd be like, no, I'm not doing this call. Do you know what I mean? So it's like there's positives to everything. Yeah. I really wonder how long it's going to take for us to get to the place where we acknowledge that athletes are human beings and we don't own them in their entirety outside

of the sport. Because we're watching you perform the sport you know like that that is the action and there's this pervasive idea that athletes are owned off the court or off the field like people yeah you we want you we want you doing we want you we want you we want you we want you we want you and then as soon as you express emotion about being wanted people are angry at you they're like oh what do you mean he's tired what do you mean he's not having a good day yeah it's wild yeah it's Yeah. It's, it's, it's crazy, man. Like it's, yeah, you said it. Let's talk about a bit of like, just something like your personal life, like as, as Nick, you've, you've been really open and, and really vulnerable, which for me flies in the face of this idea of you being an asshole. You know, you, to me, it seems like you are somebody

who occasionally loses their temper or shows their emotion while playing a sport, which by the way, again, is normal in most sports. But when you, when you force someone

like white shorts. Yeah, it is. We're not, we're human. So aren't we supposed to feel? Do you know what I mean? Yeah. I hope that will change

in tennis, man. I really hope it will. Because I think if the sport's not careful, it will start to become a vestige of itself. It'll just become like this. You know, remember when the Williams sisters started? Yeah, but as soon as Nadal and Djokovic goes anyway, the sport's going to struggle. They'll lose so many fans. I think, look, obviously with Sinner and Alcaraz coming up, but the way they've marketed the sport,

there's not going to be as much interest anymore. Yeah, you see, and that's what I mean. They can't afford to lose people like you. That's exactly what I'm saying. Yeah, well, too bad. I've got plans. What are your plans? If you could wave a magic wand, what does Nick Kyrgios do?

I actually don't have plans. That's a lie. I'm not a planner. I just go day by day. I look back at it. no i just go back i don't even know what i'm doing tomorrow i don't know what i'm doing this afternoon honestly i don't have no i'm not a planner at all but what would you want to do if you could do anything i honestly don't even want to think about it like i find happiness the easiest of things like i just so excited to just get up and be at home like get get a coffee, spend time

with my mom. Like those things are just like the best things. I just want to do that for as long as I can. I think, you know, with all the downsides, as we talk about, of the sport of tennis, I wonder if you have felt, because I could just be projecting this incorrectly, but obviously there are downsides to social media. be projecting this incorrectly, but obviously there are downsides to social media. Did you start to find a level of connection with people because of social media? Did you start to realize that Nick Kyrgios was touching hearts and minds all over the world in a way that you weren't

aware of when you started playing? Definitely. And I think that's what I'm doing now. I've actually, funny you said it, I'm starting my show called Good Tr trouble. I sit down one-on-one with some really interesting people. Like I've done Mike Tyson, Gordon Ramsey, Gary V, Jay Shetty, and you know, they're all getting edited now, but I was filming that when I was in LA and it's like, we sit down intimately and I didn't realize that I would be able to interview these people. First of all, right. Social media was the biggest link of that and then obviously tennis if i wasn't good at tennis i wouldn't even have had the you know the the platform to do it but like i've sat down with these people these amazing entrepreneurs athletes chefs like and i'm like yeah they all seem to have like the same sort of they're like they do things with purpose they've

come from a super like super hard They're never satisfied, like ever. They're always like, I achieved something, I got to do more. And I'm like, when I speak to these people, I sit there and I'm like, I did Rainn Wilson, by the way, and we chatted about the comedy scene and people, you know, there was a lot of suicides. When you were saying that, I was pretty fresh in my mind, but I was just like, how the hell is Nick Kyrgios sitting down here interviewing these people? And I'm like, my life with the social media and stuff, I hated it.

But then I'm like, dude, there's so many cool things that come from it. Like even this, for instance, it's pretty powerful stuff. But I think you've got to use it in the right way, definitely, because there's a lot of junk on it as well. It's interesting. You've said it twice, and it says something to who you are, but the fact that you say, how is Nick Kyrgios in this situation? How is Nick Kyrgios speaking to that? Do you ever acknowledge the fact that people are thinking that about you?

No. You know? Yeah, it's funny that you don't ever think that about yourself at all, at all, at all. No. No. I just think it's weird that people want to talk to me don't go anywhere because we got more what now after this

um when you're playing this is something i've always wanted to know, just as a selfish, for me, completely selfishly. How much does it affect you when the fans or the people in the crowd are talking or not talking? So annoying. Really? Look, it's the timing of it. If you want to come to a tennis game and cheer and be loud, like New York is so loud.

In Arthur Ashe Arena, it's so loud. But for instance, at Wimbledon or at Oz Open or moments where you have to be quiet, it's like between first or second serves or in the middle of the point. You can't. People, I think, they just don't realize that a little, especially in tennis, one point can change the whole momentum of the match like the scoring system isn't like like a basketball game

or a soccer game like soccer is not about i'm not a good example but a soccer um like a soccer game like you have to i think people just you know they might be drinking too much or whatever but they kind of don't understand that there's a little bit of etiquette in tennis where it's like you have to just be quiet at certain moments not all the time at certain moments and i think people just struggle because it can swing the entire game it can whenever you're doing um those trick shots which you know i think you you've become even more famous for thanks to social media you know tick tock and you name it like in in those moments i mean i don't need to tell you this, but I will anyway. As a fan of the sport,

I live. I genuinely live for that moment, Nick. I don't care whether it works or not. I live for that moment because it feels unscripted. It feels original. When you're hitting those crazy trick shots to a fellow pro and you see them smiling and everything,

is that, is that a moment where Nick's having fun on the court? Yeah. It's just like that. That's like, that's like a part that I look back on. I'm like, those, those were cool moments.

Cause it's just like my personality coming through. And I think when I see the youth kind of, you know, going and doing that in there, like small tennis center and they're trying to aspire to be like me. And that, that, that's,

that's a real cool part about it. Like that's a bit of my personality. It's like, you know, show yourself, show yourself what you want, what you like, how you want to play in those moments. It's pretty cool. Would you ever go into coaching? I would. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, she's asked for a couple of tips and a couple of things and I've helped her. And a lot of players do. I think I've got, I'm a student of the game where like I'm really smart tactically and I feel like I can help a lot of players. Yeah, probably. Maybe. I'm a student of the game where I'm really smart tactically and I feel like I can help a lot of players. Probably, maybe. What would you do differently as a coach to what all the quote-unquote, let's just call them mainstream coaches are doing?

What do you think coaches miss? I think most coaches miss actually caring for the athlete and their well-being first. I think they care about the tennis first, most of them, and they don't really care about, okay, how's my player's life actually going? I would have to spend time with my student, I guess. I'd have to know what their tendencies are, what they like to do, how their personality is off the court.

I need to know how they – I need to get to know them and care about them first, have that connection, make sure that's solid before I actually – because how are they going to listen to me, first of all get to know them and care about them first have that connection make sure that's solid before i actually because how they're going to listen to me first of all if i don't care about them as like and i gain that respect they're not going to listen to me on the court and i feel like that was something that i struggled with like i knew early in my career people didn't really care about my well-being like i was paying them and they never hung out and never really got to know me and i was like okay so now they're showing up on the tennis court i can't i can't do that.

I can't do those relationships. So I guess I would just be there. I'd be early mornings with them, late nights, go through the ups and downs and get to know them as a person. And yeah, that would be the difference, I think. I remember players at Inter Milan talking about Jose Mourinho. Yeah. And a lot of the players were saying one of the reasons they regard him as one of the greatest coaches of all time is not because of what he does on the field.

It's what he does off the field. They said he involves himself in every aspect of your life, like a real human being. He's like, how is your wife? How's your family? How are the kids? What's going on? That's important. Sometimes he would even let a player not play the game because he's like hey i get

back home you're struggling with a lot and i i i often think about that with sport you know like are we doing a good job treating athletes like the human beings that they are especially thinking about like the mental aspects of the game like i don't know if you've ever read um zlatan ibrahimovic's book, but in the book he talks about, it's a really, really fantastic book. I would recommend it if you haven't. He talks about how before one of the biggest matches of his career, he was dealing with the fact that him and his wife had lost like a child.

Like, you know, like, and it was, it was this, you know, it was, it was a painful, painful story of him talking about his wife was pregnant and then, and he has to go and play in a final and that's it. And all the fans care about is, did you score? Did you not score? You're dealing with this private thing that nobody knows about, you know, no one, no one gets to talk about it. I'd love to know, like, did you ever, did you ever get therapy?

Did anyone ever recommend it? Was it something that you oh definitely yeah i've seen a lot of psych psychologists and i went to this like kind of this psychological kind of rehab place in london um you know i was playing 2019 when wouldn't i went there and i got you know i went there i seeked a bit of help and it was kind of like a scary time because i had to play nadal the next day and they were like you should stay here for like a week or two and i was like i can't really do that because i gotta play nadal the next day and that was kind of like a scary time because I had to play Nadal the next day and they were like, you should stay here for like a week or two. And I was like, I can't really do that because I've got to play Nadal the next day.

And that was a big wake-up call for me. I was like, shit, I need to kind of drive myself out of this period because no matter what I do, people are really not going to care about things I've got off the court. Yeah. Yeah, like my grandmother, she passed away this year and she was like, she was quite old. She lived a great life.

She was like 94, I think, or 95. And that day, you know, I was training and she passed away and I was in Sydney and she was in Canberra and my family would FaceTime me and I was FaceTiming her. I was on the camera to her watching her kind of, you know, go through that phase. And then it's like then i'm at a tennis center training and people come out to photos and like that was like that's the kind of thing that people just don't get like it was my it was my girlfriend's birthday as well so it's my girlfriend's birthday like um my grandmother passed away and i was had training and people

just come on photos and it's like that sort of stuff takes so much of a toll on someone it's like sorry that i might be miserable the next day do you know what i mean like it's like right the people don't get that they're like oh how how arrogant of you not to take a photo i'm like dude like i just like five minutes ago my grandma just passed you don't mean like they don't they don't care about yeah no i know exactly i know exactly what you mean my grandpa passed away last year same same thing it's the same like and you don't you don't want to nor should you have to deal with it with. And you don't want to, nor should you have to deal with it with strangers. You don't want to tell everyone, oh, my grandmother just died.

My grandmother just died. Exactly. But then if you don't take a photo, it's like, oh, why are you so rude? I'm like, dude, do you want to know? And then it's crazy, man. Yeah. It's that line.

They only miss you when you're gone. It's that feeling. Of course. One aspect I definitely want to touch on before I let you go is your relationship. You've been really open and it seems like you give a lot of credit to your partner for how she's helped you in your life. You've talked about her getting you out of the darkest moments, how she sees you when other people don't. I remember watching her at Arthur Ashe, if I'm not mistaken, it was like, and like seeing how she sort of felt for you in some of the moments on the game, sometimes in the game, sometimes it even felt like you were just playing in front of her. It wasn't even about the

rest of us. What, what's, what's that relationship meant to you? And, and, um, and how easy is it to be in a relationship when you're in the position that you're in? Oh, I mean, first of all, being in a relationship, it might like it out, I guess, in anyone that's kind of in the limelight. It's not easy at all. Like it's really hard. You know, there's a lot of eyes on your relationship. There's a lot of people that have their opinions and on social media

and they're commenting this or that. A lot of garbage that gets kind of fueled into it. And then like, obviously, you know, following and liking and all this. And, you know, I think the best thing about my relationship is that we have really nice, really good boundaries and we both respect it. And we know that trust is really the only currency you have in a relationship. And once you break it, I think it's really hard to, especially in the limelight, once it's a little bit broken, it's really too hard to fix. But she's just present.

I think that's one thing that I say about my girlfriend now. She's just present and she knows the whirlwind of my life. Like when I travel and when I'm in a spotlight and when I'm dealing with negativity or positivity and I'm winning and I'm stressed,

like she's just there. Like I just like, I play on the biggest stadiums in the world and I get back to the little hallway and she's just waiting there. She's like, yeah, you did really well. And it's like she just sits there and she's just like, I'm proud of you. And we go home and we'll make food together.

It's just like I love just the simplest of things. Like I don't need anything. It's like just be present for me because like in the whirlwind of my life and the shitstorm, I just want to come home to a nice, calm environment where we can talk and just relax and i don't want to talk about tennis just like what are you doing today what are we doing i just love that yeah that's just who are you as a human being like i know it's not easy like i'm not easy to be with like there's a lot of shit that comes with me and i've got a lot of baggage and i've got a lot of spotlight and people don't

like i know not everyone wants that it's not fun all the time and i think my girlfriend now she's just really part of she's just yeah she yeah, she's just present. She just rides the waves like, and she's really good to travel with. That is the biggest thing. And that's how you know if she's the one or not, if you can travel with your partner and not lose your shit at them with like delayed flights or shitty hotels, if you can travel with your partner, then she's the one. Yeah. It goes both ways. I always tell people, I say, if you want to know where you really are in a relationship, travel alone with someone. No matter who it is, you will expose yourself.

When you wake up together, go to bed together, deal with the hotel together, like you said, the flight's delayed, there's a problem with the seats. Yeah, everything. You will know who the other person is. Adversity, yeah. Yeah. What does she think of your OnlyFans? Like you, cause you have an OnlyFans. I saw this and I was like, I was like, I was like, Nick, what, what the hell is this? And then I was like, okay, it's not what it's not like a, it's funny. Cause OnlyFans started off as this idea where you could just share insider insights. Now people think of OnlyFans as only

being porn. When I saw Nick Kyrgios on OnlyFans, I was like, what? Yeah, what did you think? You were going to say, what did you think? Are you going to say my extra bit of equipment? Obviously not.

I thought I was going to see your tennis balls, Nick. That's what I thought, man. Yeah, baby. That's a lot of people want to see. But it's like, it's crazy. And it's like, I'm just giving insights

of like my training regimes, like my rehab, my dog, like normal life stuff that people love to see it's like oh i'm doing you know i've gone in behind the scenes of good trouble my show or like yeah you know like just tennis stuff and it's like i think in a way look i i think some part of honey fans obviously very very insane like i would never ever do anything like obviously i'm not gonna go out there take my shirt off and shit and just like that's not happening but at the same time like

i think look there's a way to i've got so many fans that are willing to you know see my stuff and my stuff yeah yeah not that stuff but not your stuff not your stuff but just yeah and i think i think it's cool but the cool thing about it is that every media platform now that wants to see what i'm up to has to subscribe to my only fans so i did my i do like big announce i do a big announcements on my instagram like make sure you go to my instagram and then all these media platforms are subscribing to my only fans and then they gotta go and see what i'm doing so it's like i'm just stealing i'm just stealing their money oh i don't know yeah so any of the tennis world now has to sub to my only fans

to be like oh that's what he's doing oh shit we had to so that now so then now they know what's happening it's like it's like paying the tabloid to follow you for a change exactly yeah and it's actually yeah it's payback that's actually a great idea you're gonna start doing it now aren't you yeah no i mean that's actually i'm not i'm not mad at this idea actually would you ever do uh would you ever stream gaming as well yeah yeah, yeah. That's what I mean. I was streaming. I'm playing some games like Logan Paul and stuff. I'm going to stream them on OnlyFans and stuff.

It's cool. It's cool. And I think I'm actually helping the platform a bit, gain some more athletes. I think it's cool. I would actually subscribe to, if Jason Tatum or Boston Celtics had OnlyFans, I would, hell yeah, I would subscribe

to get inside the locker room and see dope huddles before they go out. 100%. Are you kidding me? Yeahans, I would, hell yeah, I would subscribe. Like, to get inside the locker room and see dope, like, huddles before they go out. 100%. Are you kidding me? Definitely, I would. Get inside the game and into the human being. Well, you know what? I'll tell you as one of your fans. Yeah, man, I appreciate who you are as a person.

I appreciate how flawed you've been in public. I appreciate the fact that you've survived through it all. I know it's not easy. I can't imagine what it's like, you know, at the age that you were doing it and then, you know, under the microscope that you, that you're constantly under. But yeah, man, I appreciate that you, that you try, that you grow, that you talk about your mental health, that you, you do it all.

And that you're, that you're a great guy for real, man. I really appreciate it. It's great to meet your heroes and they are, they're as fantastic as you are, man. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thanks for thanks for having me yeah so keep doing it and i promise you now just do me one favor i promise you now this is what i it's the promise i made to myself nick i always go if the world is ending you've got to figure out what kind of party you're throwing for it and i think of that in your career as well and play yeah but i'm thinking i'm thinking the same thing for you, man. When you're on the road, when it's that final goodbye,

please, I promise you I'm not wrong on this. Make it a party, man. Leave. Make it the biggest goodbye, the most fun. Bring your people. Make it raucous. Leave your stamp on the sport. Don't let the sport leave its stamp on you. Appreciate that. Thank you.

Yeah, man. Thank you again. Take it easy appreciate you same man all right cool bye what now with trevor noah is produced by spotify studios in partnership with day zero productions full wealth 73 and odyssey's pineapple street studios The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Barry Finkel. Produced by Emmanuel Hapsis and Marina Henke. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Braun. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now?