Nick Kyrgios has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, and his latest comments about Jannik Sinner and the ATP have once again stirred the pot in the tennis world. Known for his explosive talent and equally fiery personality, Kyrgios has shared candid insights into his complicated relationship with the Italian star while also raising eyebrows with his accusations of favoritism in the controversial doping case.

If we take a look back, Sinner tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol twice in March last year. However, he was allowed to continue playing, and this news only came out in public in August when ITIA announced that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing, as he bore “no fault or negligence.” During that time, Kyrgios was one of the most vocal ones to express his outrage at how things were handled in this case. He said, “Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned substance (steroid)…you should be gone for two years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…yeah, nice.” But later on, Sinner did eventually receive a suspension after WADA appealed against ITIA’s decision, and in February this year, they settled with Sinner’s lawyer, resulting in a three-month ban.

After serving that three-month ban, Sinner reached the final of the Italian Open and the French Open before ultimately clinching the title at Wimbledon. Jannik Sinner seems to have taken it forward from where he had left off at the 2025 AO. He also reached the final of the US Open this year and won the title recently in Beijing. But despite all these recent successes, Nick Kyrgios was recently spotted ‘throwing mud’ at the Italian star for his controversial past. During a recent episode of the ‘UNSCRIPTED by Josh Mansour,’ Kyrgios was asked if there is any player with whom he doesn’t have a good relationship. In reply, the Aussie said, “There are a couple. The thing about me is like I’m loved by a lot of the locker room, but then there are people that I can’t stand. Like obviously, me and Jannik Sinner now, it’s pretty grim.”

Explaining more of that, he added, “Obviously, after the whole doping scandal with him testing positive and all that type of stuff, yeah, there are a couple of people I don’t get along with at all…” But when it came to judging Jannik Sinner as a player, it was nothing but sheer respect from the Aussie. He said, “He’s the number one player in the world [when he tested positive] and there’s no doubt he’s an incredible player and he’s going to be carrying the sport for the next 10 to 15 years with [Carlos] Alcaraz.” But Nick Kyrgios didn’t stop there! He shifted the conversation to a topic that has captured global attention: the ATP’s handling of Sinner’s doping saga. “I mean, obviously, they’re protecting him to some degree. I mean, the CEO and all of the important people in the ATP are all Italian. And like the whole story for me is bulls–t,” he said.

According to him, the handling of the case was a tight slap in the face of players who are clean. All he now hopes is that Sinner learns from this mistake, and having said that, he once again claimed that he’ll be one of the best players to ever play the racket sport.

Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz: Who’s Nick Kyrgios’ pick to take over the throne from Novak Djokovic?

Both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have had a wonderful season this year, so far. Although the Italian has now dropped to number 2, he still managed to win three titles in 2025 (even after serving a three-month ban), and that includes his Wimbledon triumph. Sinner has a win-loss record of 43-6 this season, while it’s 67-7 for the Spaniard in 2025. Alcaraz has already won eight titles this season, and this is exactly the reason why he’s currently ranked world number one.

Nick Kyrgios has played against Jannik Sinner once. It was at the 2022 Miami Open, where Sinner defeated the Aussie by 7-6(3),6-3. While sharing his thoughts about Sinner and how things went for him in one year or so, he added, “Like also I’ll tell him to his face: I think he was good enough to do it [becoming the best player] without [possible doping]. Like if it was an accident, okay, but if it wasn’t, I would say ‘Bro, I don’t think you need that.’ I played against him, and it was an incredibly close match, and I was like, ‘This kid’s going to be f–king unbelievable.’ So I was like I think you’re good enough to do it on your own merit.”

He believes Sinner is an incredible ball striker and has no weakness at all. But how far is Alcaraz from the Italian when it comes to their merit? “He and Alcaraz don’t have any weaknesses. You just have to beat them, you just have to raise your level to ridiculous proportions,” Kyrgios admitted. But when he was asked who, between these two, is most likely to surpass his close friend Novak Djokovic’s staggering 24 Grand Slam triumphs record, he stated, “I think at the rate that Alcaraz is going, he could do it. He’s already got six at 22 years old. He’s winning two a year, so yeah, he could do it.” 

Do you agree with Kyrgios’ take on this, though, or do you feel Jannik Sinner has an edge over the Spaniard here? Share your thoughts in the comment box.