Nick Kyrgios Spits at Wimbledon Fan Who He Claims Attended Match Out of 'Disrespect'

Javier Garcia/Shutterstock Nick Kyrgios

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios admitted to spitting at a rowdy fan during his Wimbledon match on Tuesday.

Kyrgios, 27, advanced to the second round on Tuesday, beating Paul Jubb 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5 in the hard-fought match.

After sealing the win, Kyrgios turned towards a fan and spit in his general direction. Asked about the incident during media availability, Kyrgios confirmed he had spit, and said, "Of one of the people disrespecting me, yes," according to CNN.

"I would not be doing that to someone who was supporting me," Kyrgios added.

Kyrgios told reporters, "Today, as soon as I won the match, I turned to him ... I've been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don't feel like I owed that person anything."

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Kyrgios claimed that the fan in question wasn't attending to support any of the players. "He literally came to the match to literally just, like, not even support anyone really. It was more just to stir up and disrespect," said Kyrgios.

Dave Shopland/Shutterstock Nick Kyrgios

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The Australian athlete added, "That's fine. But if I give it back to you, then that's just how it is."

Kyrgios voiced his frustration over the double standards between athletes and fans during competitions. "I'm okay with receiving a lot of it [heckling]. What I don't understand is as soon as I give it back, for instance in Stuttgart I gave it back, and I got a game penalty," said Kyrgios.

Despite the tension between Kyrgios and the fan, the 27-year-old said, "I love this tournament; it's got nothing to do with Wimbledon."

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"I just think it's a whole generation of people on social media feeling like they have a right to comment on every single thing with negativity. It just carries on to real life," he added.

Additionally, ESPN reported that Kyrgios asked for that fan to be removed from the venue.

The talented Kyrgios, who has won in doubles at the Australian Open and was once ranked 6th, is also known for his fiery temper, and has racked up thousands of dollars in fines over his career for intentionally tanking matches and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Other times, Kyrgios has made headlines for happier interactions with the crowd. After accidentally hitting a young fan with a ball at this year's Australian Open, the tennis pro gifted the boy his racket.

"This is 9-year-old Fin Crane!," Stanaway wrote. "Thankfully, he's all ok after getting accidentally cleaned up after errant ball flew into the crowd at the Kyrgios/Kokkinakis match - @NickKyrgios made sure he goes home with a nice souvenir! What a little legend #AO2022."

Kyrgios will play doubles on Wednesday alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, and on Thursday, he will compete in against Filip Krajinović in the singles competition.