In today’s world, social media is a double-edged sword. It can catapult you to fame overnight, but a misstep can damage your reputation just as quickly. The key lies in how you wield it. Case in point: a recent conversation between tennis “bad boys” Nick Kyrgios and John McEnroe. Kyrgios, known for his on-court theatrics, and McEnroe, a legend with a fiery temper, recently discussed the impact of social media on the sport.

McEnroe is a legendary figure in the racquet sport and apart from his seven Grand Slam triumphs, the 65-year-old superstar is also known as the ‘Super Brat.‘ His fiery personality and on-court outbursts have given rise to many controversies during his playing career. What if we had social media at that time? “I’d be in jail right now, I’d have said stuff…” said McEnroe during  ‘Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios‘ podcast‘s July 18 episode. “I would have said stuff…”

He further went on to reveal that although he thinks he would have gotten adjusted to it with time, he’s happy to keep a distance from it at the moment. However, McEnroe added, “I don’t want to say I’m never gonna be on it(social media) because there’s people ‘you got to do a podcast you got to do this. Social media would be great for your brand’. I mean, what do you mean by brand? I’m myself, okay! Whatever they want to call it, it seems like you can easily get yourself in trouble.”

On the other hand, for Nick Kyrgios, social media is a “huge thing” at the moment and lead people to “good trouble”! The Australian tennis star believes it gives him the chance to go to Instagram every day, make a call to athletes whoever he likes, and it also helps him get more insights about what’s happening around the sports world. However, there was once a time when it was this social media that brought in all the negativities in his life.

“It’s a rabbit hole” – McEnroe’s alter ego Kyrgios’ take on social media

Like McEnroe, even Kyrgios is one of the most controversial figures in the tennis world. He has faced so much social media hate throughout his career. Even his family wasn’t spared from all the negative comments. At times, social media hatred can be really damaging for athletes as it brings down their confidence and engulfs them with negativity. Kyrgios even suffered from multiple mental health issues during this phase of his career, but now he has learned how to tackle all of these. So what’s the way out of such troubles?

According to the 29-year-old Aussie tennis star, he “consciously made an effort to try and get off my phone. It’s a rabbit hole, I think a lot of players on the tour struggle with that. Many players have shared their opinions on what they get online. It’s horrible.” He believes what the athletes have to go through is not at all normal.

Criticisms and Negativities can be really hard to handle if one doesn’t make any conscious effort to get rid of it. Nick Kyrgios felt these things can really bring one down pretty easily, and perhaps this is the “trouble” that John McEnroe indicated during his conversation.