Nick Kyrgios has been at the centre of criticism since the news of his suspension came to light earlier this month. He tested positive for Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of coc**ne and has been provisionally suspended since August 4, 2026. Now, Karen Khachanov has added his name to the list of tennis stars to take a dig at the Aussie.

“He always loved to shit on people even when he wasn’t playing, constantly those tweets or whatever,” said Khachanov in an interview with First&Red. “And now that it’s come back to haunt him, what is there to say? You reap what you sow.”

“So, to be honest, it’s not that I’m not surprised, I don’t really feel sorry for him. This is a logical development of the situation. What he got caught doing was his own choice. Not to mention the fact that last year he was tweeting about Sinner or someone else that he doesn’t play doubles with people who dope. What goes around comes around.” [Trans. from Russian]

Kyrgios does have a reputation for making blunt remarks and speaking out on issues without thinking about consequences. Last year, when Jannik Sinner faced a three-month suspension for testing positive for Clostebol in 2024, Kyrgios was one of the few people who openly criticized the Italian and the doping rules for their “lack of fairness.”

After his suspension, his own comments came back to haunt him. This led the 31-year-old to issue an apology for his own actions, and he even took some time off social media.

However, Khachanov’s harsh criticism of Kyrgios is not out of the blue. The duo has previously engaged in fiery on- and off-court encounters with each other, which makes the Russian’s comments even more intense.

Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov’s Twitter Feud

Karen Khachanov and Nick Kyrgios’s relationship hasn’t exactly been friendly since they engaged in a flame war during Covid -19 in 2020. The conversation started when Kyrgios replied, “shut up Mats” to Mats Wilander, who called Andy Murray “selfish” and asked him to retire after learning that he had accepted a wildcard at the French Open.

Khachanov replied to Kyrgios’ message and was unhappy with the way he spoke to the former World No. 1. “Show some respect,” Khachanov wrote.

This exchange blew out of proportion, with players taking jabs at each other. It gradually transpired into a full-blown fight as the players called each other names and even belittled each other over their intellect.

“Next time before talking about my intellect read at least a few books, instead of playing video games [the] whole day long,” Khachanov said.

“I’ve also been feeding the hungry, helping open up new facilities for kids to get active. But way to do your research you absolute pelican,” replied Kyrgios.

But it all added to the spice of their first meeting since the online beef, at the quarterfinal of the 2022 US Open. The thrilling clash saw the two players giving their all to win the match. However, Khachanov smoked Kyrgios in the last set to snatch the win 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4 in epic fashion.

While Kyrgios displayed disappointment by smashing his racquet after the loss, he did end up appreciating the way Khachanov held his nerves to get the win. While Kyrgios is out of the US Open this season, Khachanov is very much in action. He will hope to channel the beast he unleashed against the Aussie again today as he takes on Roman Andres Burruchaga in his first round match.