Nick Kyrgios: Should Wimbledon finalist have won Newcombe medal ahead of Ashleigh Barty after 'respect' comment?

Nick Kyrgios is not happy.

He’s not happy that he missed out on winning the Newcombe medal, an award which is presented to Australia’s best tennis player of the season.

Instead of Kyrgios, it was won this year by Ashleigh Barty, who retired in March as world No. 1 after playing two tournaments.

“No respect at all. I don't give a f***”, wrote Kyrgios on Instagram above a graphic comparing his achievements this season with Barty’s record.

The comparison is:

So is Kyrgios' ire warranted?

Kyrgios was included in the initial shortlist for the Newcombe medal, along with Barty, Ajla Tomljanovic, Alex de Minaur, Matt Ebden, Storm Hunter, and Max Purcell. Tennis Australia say the award is presented to the “most outstanding elite tennis player and ambassador for the sport” of the year. While there could be some quibbles over whether Kyrgios has been the best ambassador for Australian tennis in 2022, there is no denying his achievements. This has been a career year for Kyrgios.

He shone at the Australian Open when he won the doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis. He was very good at Indian Wells and Miami, then he really hit his stride over the summer when he made back-to-back grass semi-finals and reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon. He won the singles and doubles titles in Washington DC, beat defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the US Open before a crushing loss five-set quarter-final loss when he looked the favourite to lift the trophy, and qualified in doubles at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Kyrgios finished the season with a 37-10 win-loss record in singles and 24-8 in doubles. Only Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had better singles win percentages than Kyrgios.

So far so good?

One potential knock would be that three of Kyrgios’ titles have come in doubles and only one in singles, at an ATP 500. Barty won the singles and doubles at the Adelaide International and then clinched the title at the Australian Open, becoming the first home singles champion in Melbourne in 44 years. But Barty didn’t play again after the Australian Open, announcing her shock retirement in March. When it comes to the body of work in 2022, Kyrgios has far more to go off.

But Kyrgios also missed a notable event this season – the Davis Cup.

The Newcombe medal is named after John Newcombe, one of the greatest Australian tennis players of all time who reached world No. 1 and won multiple Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. He also helped Australia win five Davis Cup titles.

Kyrgios has not played in the Davis Cup since 2019. Team captain Lleyton Hewitt and leading singles player De Minaur both seemingly tried to persuade Kyrgios to return this year, but to no avail. As Australia were playing in the Davis Cup final against Canada – which they lost 2-0 – Kyrgios was preparing for a “six-figure” pay day at the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Had Kyrgios been in the team then Australia would have been with a great shot of winning their first Davis Cup title since 1999.

Explaining his decision not to play the Davis Cup, Kyrgios said: “Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I would play it and bring home the trophy.

“But who knows? Adding another week in Europe in Malaga wasn’t really what was on my wish list. If it was in Australia, maybe it would have been a different story. But who knows?

“It’s not always easy for me to erase everything in Australia that’s said negatively about me or my family, you don’t need that. So it’s interesting that they really want me to play, but are always criticising.

“I don’t forget the first seven years of my career… they can’t just pick and choose. Look, I’ve always been one of the best players in the world – I’ve always held up my fair share of the bargain towards Australia. I feel like this is the first year I’ve earned respect when it should have been given when I first came on tour.”

This is the fifth year in a row that Barty has won the Newcombe medal. In two of those years it was shared with another player – 2018 with De Minaur and 2021 with Dylan Alcott. Considering De Minaur jointly won the award in 2018 without lifting a title, it is perhaps telling that Kyrgios didn’t get the same treatment this year. Was it partly down to his decision not to play in the Davis Cup and prioritise other events? Or was it also because his on-court behaviour, although much improved for most of the year, still raised a few eyebrows at times? His fellow Australian Pat Cash accused Kyrgios of “gamesmanship and cheating” at Wimbledon, where Kyrgios also spat towards a fan.

When it comes to being an ambassador for Australian tennis, Kyrgios appears to still be some way behind Barty, whose behaviour on and off the court was exemplary.

"She wasn't just a great tennis player, but a great person on and off the court and I love her forever," Australian legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley said about Barty at the award ceremony.

It will be interesting to see what happens in 2023. If Kyrgios continues on the same trajectory – or even levels out - then he will surely be the outstanding Australian player of the year, barring some big results for Tomljanovic or De Minaur. But will he return to the Davis Cup fold? And will that be a decisive factor?

Kyrgios says he doesn’t “give a f***” about the award, but the fact that he has posted about a lack of respect suggests otherwise. Will he get the respect he feels he deserves in 12 months?

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