Nick Kyrgios takes aim at trolls over 'racist, homophobic' abuse
Nick Kyrgios has named and shamed a Facebook troll to continue his war on fan abuse.
The Australian tennis star hit the headlines yesterday after a spectator was removed from the stadium during a running battle at the Miami Open.
Kyrgios later told reporters the fan had sparked the exchange by calling him a ‘d***’.
But it all was taken a step further in a Facebook message overnight, with Kyrgios sharing screenshots to reveal a small portion of what hits his inbox.
“Your a f***ing disgrace to Australia. F*** off back to India,” a man wrote alongside an even more unsavoury message.
Kyrgios paired the screenshot with a note condemning the abuse.
“You have to question the world when a grown ass man feels the need to reach out with this hate?!” the world No.33 said.
“A racist, homophobic hater, yet I’m the disgrace? How messed up is the world?
“You’d be surprised how much of this s*** I have to put up with, especially from Australia.”
A number of tennis players have previously spoken out against trolls who send abusive messages after gambling on their matches.
The AFL has recently taken its own stand against racist and sexist comments following a number of incidents on social media.
‘I don’t understand it’
Kyrgios had played the Miami Open spectator for laughs but questioning the fan’s actions after his win over Dusan Lajovic.
“You’ve just got idiots in the crowd who have nothing else to do on a Sunday night but watch me play, yet are talking to me as though they’re not interested in watching,” he said.
“I had a bit of fun with it. I knew he was going to get kicked out, I loved every single bit of it. I think the crowd loved it. I thought they saw some great tennis as well.
“When I go to a sporting event, I just admire the athletes and support them because I genuinely like being at an event.
“He’s probably stuck in traffic going to his house in rush hour. I don’t understand it.
“If anything, he got me going and got me motivated, I’m really happy with how I played.”
Kyrgios returns to the court tomorrow in a fourth-round meeting with 11th seed Borna Coric.
