Nick Kyrgios Has on-Court Rant at Miami Open, Cites Rafa Nadal in Bias Claims

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has once again found himself at the centre of controversy, as he suggested the sport is “biased” and “ruined” in an expletive, on-court rant. 

The incident occurred during the 20-year-old’s 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Andrey Kuznetsov at the Miami Open quarter-final, in the first set. Kyrgios was seen hitting a ball thrown to him by a ball-person into the stands, narrowly missing some spectators. It was an action that was met by jeers from the fans and a code violation from the umpire.

After the game had finished, Kyrgios lashed out at the official, Cedric Mourier, insisting if Rafael Nadal had done the same thing, the punishment would have been different. 

Here’s a look at the moment in question:

“Anyone else, like Rafa [Nadal] did that, you would keep it cool,” said Kyrgios during the exchange, per ABC. “This game is biased as anything. You all know it as well. It's biased as s--t, this game. What else has it got to hide? It's ruined. Absolutely ruined.”

As reported by ABC, when asked about the comments post-match, Kyrgios stood by the claims he had made during the heat of the moment.

While undeniably talented, an outburst such as this is no anomaly for the world No. 26. Earlier this month he bellowed at an umpire at Indian Wells after he was caught using expletives on court and punished.

Here’s a clip of that incident, per sports writer Andrew Jerell Jones. *Warning contains expletive language*:

Additionally, Kyrgios was fined $25,000 and hit with a suspended 28-day ban last year after he used language about Stanislas Wawrinka's girlfriend during a match. He was also fined for complaining about the “f--king surface” at the Shanghai Masters back in October.