Nick Kyrgios attempts to justify Coco Gauff earning less than Citi Open men's winner by wrongly comparing Djokovic & Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios continues to stir up controversy. The Australian recently questioned why Marketa Vondrousova made more money than Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon as he attempted to justify Coco Gauff earning less than the men's winner at the Citi Open.
Having battled a series of injuries over the last few months, Kyrgios has played just one match this season, which he lost. The Aussie also withdrew from the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and is yet to decide the date of his return to the tour.
Nick Kyrgios first suffered an injury during last year's Japan Open. Earlier this year, the 28-year-old was set to compete at the United Cup but he withdrew his name at the eleventh hour.
On Monday, tennis content writer Myles David highlighted that women's winner Coco Gauff earned way less than the men's winner Dan Evans at the 2023 Citi Open.
David's post on Twitter read:
"Dan Evans’s will receive $353,445 for winning the ATP500 event in Washington, D.C.
"Coco Gauff will receive $120,150 for winning the WTA500 event in Washington, D.C.
"They played at the same venue all week
"They played best of 3 sets all week
"They will not get paid the same"
Dan Evans’s will receive $353,445 for winning the ATP500 event in Washington, D.C.
Coco Gauff will receive $120,150 for winning the WTA500 event in Washington, D.C.
They played at the same venue all week
They played best of 3 sets all week
They will not get paid the same
Kyrgios replied to the tweet and questioned why such discussions didn't take place during the Grand Slams, especially when Vondrousova, the Wimbledon women's winner, earned more than Djokovic, the men's finalist.
"What about slams? Do we do this breakdown then? Vondrousova made more than Novak that week," the Australian wrote on Twitter.
@TunedIntoTennis What about slams? Do we do
This breakdown then? Vondrousova made more than Novak that week
Vondrousova won £2,749,036 ($2,974,458) in prize money after being crowned the winner of Wimbledon for the first time in her career. On the other hand, Djokovic won £1,175,000 after losing the final to Carlos Alcaraz.
There was a clear difference between the results of the two players: while Vondrousova ended as the champion, Djokovic finished as the runner-up.
Nick Kyrgios has often irked tennis fans with his online comments
Nick Kyrgios is not new to controversy. The Australian has often irked tennis fans with both his on-court and off-court comments and activities.
Kyrgios recently asked his fans who they would want as a 'female' on his podcast. This enraged many, with some questioning him for using the term 'female' and not 'women.'
Prior to this incident, the former Wimbledon finalist bragged about having more social media followers than half of the ATP's top-10 ranked players. He even claimed to have contributed more to tennis than the top-ranked players.
Last month, Kyrgios initiated a Q&A session on social media and commented that the tour would be better after his return along with that of tennis icon Rafael Nadal. He soon faced the wrath of the fans for putting his name on the same pedestal as Nadal.
Nick Kyrgios, who is currently ranked No. 92, has never reached the top 10 and is yet to win a Grand Slam.