"I am proud of who I am today and what I've achieved" - Nick Kyrgios on his career
Six-time ATP tour title winner Nick Kyrgios was recently interviewed by TopCourt, a streaming platform for learning tennis. The Australian, who has been nursing a knee injury since September last year, spoke of the psychological challenges associated with failure for a professional athlete.
He alluded to the hardships and criticisms he had to deal with while pursuing his dream of becoming a tennis player. The Australian pointed out that people from all walks of life face setbacks, not just tennis players.
"For kids and people, it doesn't have to be tennis players. I feel like people in general that have this sort of dream or want to do something and you get told you're not good enough. That was actually one of the toughest things for me," said Kyrgios.
The Australian mentioned the need to relieve oneself from the weight of expectation and not worry about other people's opinions. He also stressed the importance of being a good human being, and revealed he was proud of himself.
"When I was losing matches, or when I was not being the person that I thought I should be, it was letting so many people down. And then I just stopped worrying about what they thought. If I could just look myself in the mirror and say, look, I'm proud of who I am today. I help people, I try to be better each day, " he explained.
Not great timing for Nick Kyrgios so close to the Australian Open as he tests positive for Covid.
Wishing him a speedy recovery!
#AusOpen https://t.co/EjN01rLj4f
Over the years, Kyrgios has earned a reputation for being a giant-killer in the game. However, he has only been as high as World No. 13 in the rankings. The Australian explained he is proud of what he has achieved, given that only the smallest fraction of people get to be professional athletes.
"You know, the amount of people that get to be professional athletes in the world is so slim, and I am proud of what I've achieved, " said Kyrgios.
"I would just say there's so many different paths to get there" - Nick Kyrgios on reaching a goal
Nick Kyrgios noted the "different paths" a professional can take to reach the top of the sport. He believes there's no definitive formula that works for everybody, and that it varies from person to person.
"I would just say there's so many different paths to get there. You know, there's no one straight line way to get to whatever you want to call it, "making it" or getting to the top of your sport, " he pointed out.
The Australian mentioned that every athlete is inherently different, and hence they have different routines and develop different game styles.
"Everyone's different. All athletes have different rituals, different diets, different personalities, different game styles. So I would say to take it into account. Don't forget those people who, you know, were putting that into you and use it as fuel. But just know that you can do it your way, " he remarked.