Nick Kyrgios opens up on why it is ‘dark time’ for him when he is playing tennis

Nick Kyrgios reveals he is probably at his “happiest” when he is not playing tennis but also adds that he is a born competitor and always wants to win whenever he is on the court. 

Since the start of his career, Kyrgios – who is set to celebrate his 29th birthday on Saturday – has been pretty open about never loving tennis too much as basketball was his first and true sporting love but he was basically forced into tennis because he had a much bigger talent for this game. 

Over the years, there were several times when Kyrgios would take some time off, like skipping the entire clay season or barely playing or not playing at all after the US Open.

“It’s almost like when I’m not playing tennis, I’m probably the happiest. I obviously miss… I’m a competitor no matter if I’m playing video games, basketball or tennis. I hate to lose. I’m a really bad loser,” Kyrgios told Naomi Osaka during his most recent Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast episode.

Nick Kyrgios © Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney

Kyrgios explains why it is often ‘a dark time’ when he is on the court

Kyrgios may not love tennis much but on the court he is always extremely passionate and emotional and he has often described his determination to win as the reason for that. Now, Kyrgios shares he usually feels “very stressed” on the court and not loving tennis but wanting to win is contributing to that stress. 

“When I play tennis, it’s a very stressful time. For most tennis players, it’s their absolute passion and for me, when I was young, it was never something I fell in love with. My relationship with tennis is not like a love relationship. I don’t wake and be like, ‘What can I get better at today?’” Kyrgios explained.

Also, Kyrgios blamed the harsh criticism and media scrutiny for being in this position today as everything that he has heard or read about him over the years led to him having “a dark time” when he is on a tennis court.

“The amount of media and negative energy I’ve received throughout my career towards my family, friends, partner, it’s almost like when I’m on court, I carry all that stuff with me. So it is a bit of dark time when I’m on court because I don’t forget anything,” Kyrgios said. 

Meanwhile, Kyrgios started practicing in March and the expectation is that he is aiming to make his return from wrist surgery at the start of the grass season.