Pro tennis isn't child's play, but Nick Kyrgios still gets a thrill hitting with kids—sometimes before matches.
In an interview with his Laver Cup captain and fellow tennis renegade John McEnroe, the explosive Aussie discusses his fresh perspective on the sport and why he sometimes hits with kids to warm up for matches.
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"I like to always keep it laid back," Kyrgios tells McEnroe in this interview. "And when I'm just warming up and I see the kids watching and they just want to go out there and have a hit, I think you can potentially make their life then and there. That's pretty cool."
Pressed by McEnroe on whether hitting with kids is adequate warm-up for a pro match, Kyrgios replies: "You of all people know that hitting for 20 minutes before a match isn't really going to change anything."
Kyrgios was hit with a suspended 16-week ban for his outburst in Cincinnati last summer and required to continue to work with a mental health coach. Reflecting on his meltdown, Kyrgios said he hopes to learn from the experience and move forward.
"Obviously, in the heat of the moment, you know how it gets sometimes," Kyrgios says. "You do go too far and you do things you might not mean in the heat of the moment. But again, I'll learn from that—hopefully. I plan on not doing that again."
The 26th-ranked Aussie, who helped inspire the Australian Open's Rally for Relief benefit for bushfire relief, says he's trying to stay calm on court.
"I think it definitely starts with the mental side of things," Kyrgios says. "Working a lot on court kind of stuff. Tennis has given me the opportunity to help a lot of people's lives—that's what I love to do."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve