In May, world ranking leader Jannik Sinner officially announced something that had been talked about in the tennis community for a long time. The Italian confirmed his relationship with Anna Kalińska, a 25-year-old Russian who is currently ranked 15th in the WTA rankings. The relationship between the top players immediately made headlines.
Kyrgios stirs up trouble again. He insults Sinner's girlfriend
Anna Kalińska was once Nick Kyrgios' girlfriend. According to media reports, the couple broke up in 2020, but the topic was not brought up much. However, the Australian himself decided to heat things up. Under a photo of them together posted by a fan on social media, he wrote: “Second serve”.
Although the post was quickly removed from X, tennis fans still expressed their disgust with Kyrgios' behavior. “Disgusting that Kyrgios continues to show his true nature,” one fan wrote. “Using Anna like an object just to get some interaction on Twitter is equally disgusting,” he added.
The Australian has been accused of sexism and misogyny. Ironically, the whole scandal was sparked for a few hours by Nick Kyrgios commentating on ESPN during the women's singles final at the US Open. The network was bombarded with criticism for allowing the tennis player on air. “Nick Kyrgios commentating on the women's US Open final hours after making a sexist comment about a top player is just crazy,” said one fan.
“Honestly, I was a little surprised that ESPN didn't take Nick Kyrgios off the air halfway through the #USOpen final given his recent disparaging tweet about a certain WTA player. Given his history of belittling women, women's tennis and WTA players, his hiring was questionable,” tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg said.
Nick Kyrgios quickly tried to turn the whole situation into a joke. “Don't you think it's funny how quickly people react to a few words or emojis…” – wrote the Australian, and later posted a post with a photo of himself… surrounded by women, as well as his current partner.
Anna Kalińska's grudge has also reached her homeland. Former Russian tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova has spoken out on the matter. “I think it goes without saying that this is an incredibly brutal attack. The guy clearly can't forgive his ex-girlfriend for getting involved with a much more successful tennis player than him, and now he's harassing her and Jannik himself with comments. I think that the Tour should have a joker who puts fun and humor above principles. But this is definitely too much. What kind of an asshole do you have to be to write something like that? Insulting and humiliating a woman is the lowest,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
Anna Kalińska will certainly be in Jannik Sinner's box during the US Open final, which will take place on Sunday at 8:00 PM Polish time. The Italian's opponent will be American Taylor Fritz.