Trash Talking in Tennis?

Thanasi Kokkinakis, Donna Vekic and Stanislas Wawrinka

Nick Kyrgios of Australia trash talk Stanislas Wawrinka in the Rogers Cup in Montreal last Wednesday. He told Wawrinka “(Thanasi) Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend (Donna Vekic). Sorry to tell you that, mate.” He was heard saying it courtside.


Last Saturday, American Ryan Harrison and Thanasi Kokkinakis had a heated argument which almost came to a boxing match instead of tennis during qualifying for the Cincinnati Masters. Kokkinakis was clearly annoyed when some calls didn’t go his way, his mouth keep on yapping that it also annoyed Harrison. When Kokkinakis got the 1st set, the two exchanged words, Harrison said that Kokkinakis and Kyrgios are “new age LITTLE KIDS” and he said “Your crew is ‘really cool!’” making fake quotation marks around the final two words "LITTLE KIDS." After Kokkinakis won the match, Harrison thought Kokkinakis was trying to continue the confrontation by not letting go of his hand.

Harrison said at courtside, "These little kids, they’ve got to get under." "They’re going to get hurt. He’s 19. If he wants to get into it, I will bury him. Wawrinka should’ve decked Kyrgios, and I should deck that kid."

During an interview Kokkinakis said that he will talk to Kyrgios about the comments he made to Wawrinka, "I let him know. I made it pretty clear that he can’t be doing that." "If he’s got a problem, he’s got to say it in private. The way he went about it definitely wasn’t the right thing."

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios may face each other in the 2nd round of the Cincinnati Masters, the 2nd to last warmup before the US Open, if they win their opening matches.

Kyrgios issued an apology after the ATP fined him, citing an "insulting remark," but he didn’t seem remorseful in his post-match interview. He said, "You know he was getting a bit lippy at me, so I don’t know, it is just in-the-moment sort of stuff." "I don’t really know, I just said it."

Wawrinka replied on Twitter about the incident, "So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine." "What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stoop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief. There is no need for this kind of behavior on or off the court, and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand for this and stands up for the integrity of this sport that we have worked so hard to build."