According to statements about Kyrgios: Tsitsipas defends himself against allegations of racism

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In 2022, Stefanos Tsitsipas (24) and Nick Kyrgios (28) faced each other in the 3rd round of Wimbledon. The game lasted more than three hours and four sets before Kyrgios emerged as the winner.

After the match, Tsitsipas spoke about his opponent. He described Kyrgios’ play as “uneducated” and accused him of bringing “basketball behavior” to the ATP tour. Statements that are part of the Netflix documentary ‘Breakpoint’ – and caused a stir. Because some fans see racism in it.

Sorry misunderstanding

This in turn is very important to Tsitsipas, which is why he is now commenting on the allegations in a lengthy statement on Facebook. He describes the whole thing as “an unfortunate misunderstanding that distorts my intentions”.

He emphasizes that he is not biased against anyone because of their ethnicity or their interests. “I am deeply sorry if my words have caused a stir. Because that was never my intention.”

Tsitsipas describes himself as an avid basketball fan and did not want to question Kyrgios’ intelligence with the statement. “I would rather give my opinion on certain aspects of his style of play and draw comparisons to the passion and intensity often associated with basketball,” said the Greek. He promises to pay more attention to his words and their implications in the future.

Experience racism yourself

Because Tsitsipas already faced racism. When Greece entered an economic crisis in 2010, he became a target. “People started judging and categorizing people based on their Greek nationality, blaming them and making sweeping generalizations about an entire population,” he writes. The resulting racism shocked him. Precisely because he was of Greek descent, he faced hurtful words, exclusion and condemnation.

And what does Kyrgios say? He responds to Tsitsipas’ statement with a tweet. “It was a very heated battle. And sometimes we as players go to these press conferences without having digested the game,” he writes. And adds with a wink: “We’ve had crazy fights and I know deep down that you like the way I play tennis.” (bir)

Source : Blick