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The so-called ‘Bad Boys’ add that extra flavour to Tennis – here are 5 active players who deserve that tag
Tennis is often seen as a Gentleman’s game but over the years the sport has seen a number of ‘characters’ who have made games much more exciting with their dramatic antics on the court.
From John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Ilie ‘nasty’ Nastase in the earlier years to Nick Kyrgios in the current era – Tennis has never been short of the ‘bad boys’. All of them are supremely talented players and champions in their own rights but very frequently it’s their behaviour that hogs the limelight. In this article, we’ll take a look at the Top 5 ‘Bad Boys’ among the active players.
5. Fabio Fognini – Fognini has a veteran Tennis star who is in the twilight phase of his career. He has had a great career but it hasn’t been free from controversies over the years. He is a hot-head who has been involved in multiple incidents of abusing officials, smashing rackets in anger and so on. But, there is certainly no denying his talent. He was previously ranked within the top ten players in the world, has won a total of 9 ATP tour titles and has been the flag bearer of Italian Tennis for a long period of time.
4. Alexander Zverev – Zverev has been involved in controversial incidents both on and off the court. When it comes to his personal life, he was accused by his ex-girlfriend that the German abused her throughout their relationship. Meanwhile, his antics on the court are there for everyone to see.
The most recent incident took place at the 2022 Mexican Open. Zverev was angered by an umpiring call that didn’t go in his favour. The scoreline was 8-6 in the tiebreak when the German felt the ball should have been called ‘out’ but it was not. He started hurling abuses at the chair umpire in rage.
Zverev and his partner eventually lost the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-10. He then went on to hit the chair umpire’s stand repeatedly with his racquet. He was disqualified from the tournament following this unacceptable behaviour.
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas – Tsitsipas has made a pretty weird reputation for himself. It is safe to say most Tennis players dislike to face him not just because he is a supremely talented opposition but also because of his annoying behaviour and on-the-court antics. He has come under fire multiple times for taking conspicuously long bathroom breaks during matches. Moreover, many players complain while facing Tsitsipas that his father continuously chirps from his box which affects their play. Even fans often boo Tsitsipas during matches for antics such as these.
2. Holger Rune – Rune has been one of the most in-form players on the ATP tour currently. He achieved his career-best ranking of World No.6 earlier this year and is one of the emerging stars in men’s tennis. However, his bad temper has always been an issue. In 2021, he was investigated for yelling homophobic slurs during a match. He was also involved in a nasty altercation with Casper Ruud which prompted the Norwegian Ruud to say: “He needs to grow up, shut up and be more gracious.” Rune is young, talented and certainly very angry which justifies his ‘bad boy’ tag.
1. Nick Kyrgios – Kyrgios has taken the ‘bad boy’ tag to the next level. From abusing fans, breaking racquets, hitting ball boys to arguing with officials – the Australian has done it all. Kyrgios has been a part of the ATP circuit for over a decade now and his reputation just seems to get worse.
There has always been a cloud of controversy around the Australian and he has often been in the news for the wrong reasons. His life hasn’t been easy off the court either as he was dragged to the court on the grounds of sexual abuse by his ex-girlfriend. So, whenever we think of the ‘bad boy’ in Tennis, Kyrgios is most often the first name that comes to mind.
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