“We don’t even get paid what we are supposed to get paid, as well, which is a joke.” Nick Kyrgios said last year in December, throwing light on tennis players not earning enough. Even his friend and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic agreed with. Earlier this year, he tried to imply that prize money in tennis events “is way lower than” tournaments like NFL, NHL, and NBA. And now, Kyrgios has reiterated his stance. In addition to that, he’s also slammed a former pro and renowned broadcaster who tried to take a dig at his doubles partner.

In an Instagram story, dated January 15, he targeted former Aussie legend Todd Woodbridge and wrote “Facts!!! We out here earning 6-7 figures at these ‘exo’s’ – we have every right to go and get that money!!!! The game is much more physical now then when some of these older heads played. Don’t be jealous we earning bread!!!!! WE EARNED IT. With you, @the_kokk1″ he concluded. But what made him come up with this furious reaction?

Few days back, ex-pro and former Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge criticized Thanasi Kokkinakis. The latter is the doubles partner and a good friend of Kyrgios. Woodbridge brought Kokkinakis under scanner while mentioning that he shouldn’t have played an exhibition event in Russia during off-season (early December). His reaction came after Kokkinakis withdrew from the Adelaide International due to a shoulder injury. Per Woodbridge, the 28-year-old should have taken rest instead of going for lucrative money in the exhibition tournament. He also believes that Kokkinakis’ injury woes may have been self-inflicted. “Scheduling is a really interesting thing with him,” he said as reported by Daily Mail on January 13.

“At the back end of the year he’s played Challengers and then he went and played exhibition matches that he didn’t need to do. Yes, the money’s great and we all love putting that in our pocket and that’s exactly what he did, but that schedule hurts to start the year.” he added. Later, Kokkinakis was asked on Woodbridge’s remarks and the ATP pro had a blunt take. He didn’t hold back in giving an honest response to former Aussie tennis icon. “We are trying to make a living as much as he is.” he said during a press conference in the ongoing 2025 Australian Open. “That’s why he is trying to host every game show under the sun,” Kokkinakis added.

Coming back to Kyrgios’ reaction, this isn’t the first time he has shared his brutal take on the situation of uneven pay. On a previous occasion, he even confessed that if he’s offered a chance to choose between Grand Slams or huge money, he will choose the latter!

When Nick Kyrgios made an honest admission on significance of money in life

In December, Kyrgios appeared on the Nothing Major podcast, hosted by American ATP pro Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, and Jack Sock. Talking to them, he was blunt on many topics. As expected, he had an unusual but honest answer when one of the hosts pitched him a tricky question. “Would you rather have $20 million bucks right now or a Grand Slam title?”, asked Sam. To this, the former World No.13 and 2022 Australian Open doubles champion said, “I’m just saying a slam, it’s not that important”.

This was an interesting response coming from him. But why? Last October, he had expressed his longtime wish to win a singles Grand Slam. On his way to tennis, after recovering from persistent injuries, he said, “I think the one thing that is now on my target is a Grand Slam. Per him, that’s only main objective going forward, acting up as a huge motivation. He revealed it in conversation with News Corp’s Code Sports.

But in the podcast, he kept money as his first priority. However, there’s a reason for that as well considering his unending criticism of lower pay in tennis, compared to other sports. Back in 2023, he had a strong reaction to ATP’s three-year trial to offer players ranked 1-100 a guaranteed salary of $460,000 per year. “Still not enough”, Nick Kyrgios wrote on X, in August 2023.

What are your thoughts on his stance on the payment criteria? Also, do you believe him defending Thanasi Kokkinakis’ response to Woodbridge is justified? Let us know in the comments below.