Nick Kyrgios joins Ons Jabeur in taking a dig at Chris Evert for comparing Karolina Muchova to men's tennis players at US Open
Nick Kurgios has joined Ons Jabeur in criticizing Chris Evert, who compared Karolina Muchova to men's tennis players. Evert's remark came after Muchova defeated Naomi Osaka in the second round of the 2024 US Open
Karolina Muchova managed to oust the two-time US Open champion, Naomi Osaka, 6-3,7-6(5) on 30th August. Following this, Chris Evert, who is commentating for ESPN for the New York Slam, compared the Czech player to men's tennis players, highlighting her serves and volleys.
"She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better," Chris Evert said.
Following Evert's comments, Tunisian player Ons Jabeur criticised Evert's comments. Labelling Evert's remark as 'stereotyping', Ons wrote,
"Muchova is an amazing talented player . She doesn’t have to be a guy to have great serve , volley or movement. Can we please stop stereotyping based on gender?"
Recently, Nick Kyrgios, agreeing with Jabeur, re-shared her tweet on X and wrote:
"I agree! SHE WAS AMAZING. why does it matter, her volleys were amazing, she was unreal. ONS teach me your slice pls lol, mine hits the fence," Kyrgios wrote.
Chris Evert issued an apology for her comment on Karolina Muchova
After facing backlash for her comments on Muchova, Evert apologized to Jabeur and Karolina Muchova on social media. She shared a statement, saying that she had unintentionally offended both the players. She explained her controversial statement and admitted that her delivery could have been better.
"I apologize if I offended you both, certainly not my intention," Evert said. "The power, mobility, and athleticism has improved so much, and many women I interview have men idols who they aspire to play like. Again, maybe my delivery could've been better, so sorry!"
Karolina Muchova will square off against Anastasia Potapova in the third round, at the Grandstand on 31st August. Leading up to the New York Slam, the Czech competed at the Cincinnati Masters, where she faced an early exit, losing to Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
Muchova reached the semifinals of the 2023 US Open, where she was defeated by eventual winner Coco Gauff.