Tennis superstar, Nick Kyrgios, seeks to reduce his eight week ATP ban to three weeks by undergoing a plan of care under the direction of a Sports Psychologist, or an equivalent plan approved by ATP according to sources.
The ban was initiated following, Kyrgios’s lack of sportsmanship in a match against German, Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters earlier in the month. Kyrgios was seen walking off the court before Zverev had returned a ball to him, putting in half-hearted services and even clashing with spectators before being booed off the court. The effort was so obviously poor that Sportsbet refunded more than $10,000 to over 100 punters. Following the debacle he tweeted:
Not good enough today on many levels, I'm better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry #StillAWorkInProgress 🙏🏽😢😞
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) October 12, 2016
Proving to be an expensive work in progress, the ATP had placed a ban on the 21-year-old describing his bizarre straight throwaway sets as “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game”. The offence meant that Kyrgios received a fine of US $25, 000 and suspended from stepping on the court till mid January 2017.
Kyrgios released a response to the ATP ban on his website, expressing his regret when stating that,
“The Asian circuit was particularly tough after the long week and win in Tokyo and with the travel throughout the continent, my body finally just gave out in Shanghai both physically and mentally.”
“I regret that my year is ending this way and that I will not have a chance to continue chasing the ATP Finals. This was an important goal for me. I do understand and respect the decision by the ATP and I will use this time off to improve on and off the court. I am truly sorry and looking forward to returning in 2017 “.
A recent statement from the ATP gives some hope to the troublesome player advising him that,
“the suspension will be reduced to three tournament weeks upon agreement that the player enters a plan of care under the direction of a Sports Psychologist, or an equivalent plan approved by ATP, meaning Kyrgios could regain eligibility to compete on the ATP World Tour or Challenger Tour from Monday 7th November, 2016″.
This recent outburst has been one of latest in a long list of controversial behaviour patterns by the Aussie.
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