"Apparently his serve is a rocket" - Nick Kyrgios cryptically reacts to Elena Rybakina's ace-leader stat; says someone was giving her "tips"
Nick Kyrgios recently reacted to Elena Rybakina's ace statistics with a cryptic message.
World No. 4 Rybakina currently leads the WTA Tour in terms of aces served in matches played so far in 2024. The Kazakh has managed to serve a staggering 181 aces in 26 matches.
Karolina Pliskova (157 aces in 18 matches), Caroline Garcia (123 aces in 17 matches), Naomi Osaka (107 aces in 13 matches), and Zheng Qinwen (107 aces in 18 matches) trail the Wimbledon 2022 champion.
Nick Kyrgios, whose serve has gained a fearsome reputation among his peers on the ATP Tour, reacted to the stat via a cryptic social media post. The Aussie wrote that Rybakina got tips from someone to improve her serve. According to Kyrgios, the person who gave the Kazakh the advice, apparently had a 'rocket' of a serve.
Rybakina has won the Brisbane International and the Abu Dhabi Open so far this season. The 24-year-old also finished as the runner-up at the Qatar Open and the recently-concluded Miami Open.
Nick Kyrgios lauded Dominic Thiem following the Austrian's first-round win at the Estoril Open
At the 2021 Mallorca Championships, Dominic Thiem sustained a wrist injury that continues to plague his tennis career to this day. The injury forced the Austrian to spend multiple spells on the sidelines. It has also affected the former ATP World No. 3 and 2020 US Open champion's game.
The Austrian revealed a few days back that he faced minor inflammation in his wrist prior to appearing at the Kiskut Open, a Challenger-level tournament in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Thiem, who was the top seed at the tournament, was ousted in the first round following a 3-6, 4-6 defeat to Daniel Michalski.
Right now, Thiem, whose ranking has slipped to World No. 91, is competing at the Estoril Open. The 30-year-old registered a first-round win at the ATP 250 tournament over Maximilian Marterer and is set to face veteran Richard Gasquet next.
After the Austrian's win over Marterer, a fan expressed elation on social media. Kyrgios took notice and responded by saying that coming back from a long-term wrist injury was hard.
"Good to see (Thiem winning again). Wrists aren't easy!", Kyrgios wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Kyrgios himself has not played competitively since his first-round loss at the 2023 BOSS Open in Stuttgart