Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios clashed with a Wimbledon umpire in a heated exchange during his return to the tournament.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, was competing in the men's doubles with world number 11 Alexander Bublik but were outplayed by the sixth seed pairing of Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
The Australian team cut an increasingly frustrated figure as Arevalo and Pavic won the first set 6-3. Kyrgios, who is infamous for his on-court misdemeanours, was broken at the start of the second set and had a heated exchange with the chair umpire before the next game.
The umpire appeared to remind Kyrgios that the first game of a set is not considered a changeover and therefore players are expected to change ends almost immediately rather than taking time out on the side of the court. This led to a heated exchange between the two.
Kyrgios told the umpire, 'Honestly, at this point you can fine me, I honestly don't even care.' He also said, 'Honestly you can fine me, I don't give a s*. All these rules are so dumb anyway.'
Kyrgios and Bublik went on to lose the second set 6-4 as they exited Wimbledon at the earliest possible opportunity.
Kyrgios has endured a torrid run with injuries since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2022, failing to win a single Grand Slam game in the past three years. However, he has been working hard to recover and has won his first singles match since October 2022 at last month's Stuttgart Open.
'I had a wrist reconstruction, I've had four knee surgeries, so I'm really battling, but at the same time I've put in a lot of work, I'm really feeling good about myself,' he said.
'Honestly, there were so many times I was thinking: "Why am I playing? What more do I need to do?" And I look at you guys [the fans] and this is why I'm playing, so I'll hang around a little longer.'
