What can be done about Nick Kyrgios?
If that isn’t the question on everyone’s mind, then this one is: Was the punishment levied upon the tantrum-and-match throwing, ultra-talented wild child of the ATP tour for his outrageous actions in Shanghai last week an appropriate, fair response?
It’s doubtful that anyone other than a gaga Kyrgios fan would find the eight-week ban too stiff a penalty. But judging by the comments on social media and various web threads, many feel that the response was too lenient. And that’s mainly because of the caveat that could reduce the ban to a mere three tournament weeks at a time when Kyrgios wasn’t planning on playing too much tennis, anyway. In 2015, the 21-year-old Aussie played just one event after Shanghai: He lost in the first round of the failed ATP 250 event in Valencia.
Of course, there are those fines: $16,500 levied immediately after Kyrgios tanked his second-round match in Shanghai. (Among other infractions, Kyrgios was docked for taunting a spectator who let Kyrgios know that he hadn’t paid good money to watch a tank job.) But that’s chump change to a guy who is already making big bucks, if not winning big titles. The additional $25,000 fine levied by the ATP, announced at the same time as the suspension, might have gotten Kyrgios’ attention, but probably not for long.