Nick Kyrgios recently drew backlash from fans after speaking about his relationship with Rafael Nadal, saying the two never liked each other.
Kyrgios and Nadal shared one of tennis’ most heated rivalries, marked by several on-court dramas and off-court media exchanges. Their rivalry gained attention at Wimbledon in 2014, when the Australian defeated Nadal in the fourth round.
A heated exchange also took place between them during the 2019 Mexican Open, where Kyrgios defeated Nadal by reportedly using tactics such as an underarm serve, drawing criticism from the Spaniard, who accused him of lacking respect.
Kyrgios recently spoke about the mutual dislike between him and Nadal to the UTS Tour. He said:
“we don’t like each other. I don’t know why. I don’t know, no, I don’t mind him though. Same discipline, but he’s the greatest competitor ever. Yeah, he’s a freak. It was sad to see him go,” said Kyrgios.
This video quickly drew reactions from fans, with many accusing Kyrgios of using Nadal’s name for attention. One of the fans on Instagram wrote:
“Clout chasing using Rafa’s name. We have seen this before.”
Another follower commented:
“Rafa ain’t thinking about you like that bro😭😭”
Highlighting Nadal’s dislike for him, another user penned:
“It’s not that Nadal doesn’t like you he just has the bare minimum of respect for you. He didn’t like your behavior on the court.”
Along similar lines, a few other fans chimed in:
“It’s so hard for him to not mention Rafa the obsession is real.”
“Rafa lives rent free in his head.”
“No Rafa didn’t like him. And he is probably the only person Rafa didn’t like because of how Nick acted during their matches. Rafa respects everybody UNTIL they don’t deserve it. And Nick having the same discipline as Rafa is another joke.”
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios faced each other nine times on the ATP Tour, with the former leading the head-to-head (6-3).
When Nick Kyrgios expressed his frustration over Rafael Nadal not being fined by umpires
In October 2025, Nick Kyrgios appeared on the ‘UNSCRIPTED with Josh Mansour’ podcast, where he criticized Rafael Nadal for frequently exceeding the serve clock without being penalized. Reflecting on his matches against the Spaniard, he said:
“You have a timer to serve between points right? It should be 25 seconds. So Rafa is just known for like, dragging out the times. There have been times when he’s taken a minute and a half to begin points and no one says a word. But then like as soon as it’s 26 seconds, they’re like, ‘code violation, loss of serve’, and I’m like, ‘brother, is there any discretion here or is it just like Rafa can do whatever he wants?'”
Expressing his dislike for Nadal, he added:
“We don’t like each other but I respect him.”
Nick Kyrgios was last seen in action in the Wimbledon doubles tournament, where he paired with Alexander Bublik. The pair suffered an early exit, losing 3-6, 4-6 to Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo.
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