Kyrgios’ mum’s heartbreaking admission over ‘life-changing’ Nadal win

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Nick Kyrgios’ mum made an emotional revelation in Netflix’s new tennis documentary as she admitted she always worried about her son because of what he’d been through after being painted as the sport’s ‘bad boy’. Norlaila Kyrgios spoke about the world No 22’s struggles as Kyrgios himself explained how his breakout win against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon “changed everything”.

Kyrgios is one of the subjects of Netflix’s new Drive to Survive-style tennis documentary Break Point, and gives a candid insight into his life and career in one of the episodes in the first half of the new series. It includes an appearance from his mum Norlaila, who gets honest about her concerns for her son and admits that the 27-year-old became “angry and aggressive” as he attempted to deal with pressures after his breakout at the age of 19.

The seven-time title winner famously upset then-world No 1 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon back in 2014 when he was a 19-year-old wildcard ranked at No 144 in the world, and he recalled the life-changing victory in the documentary. “I worry about him every day, every day. Because he’s gone through some really, really unhappy times,” Norlaila first tells the cameras before Kyrgios himself begins speaking.

“I was 19, I had my breakout at Wimbledon and that was it. My life changed,” the Australian Open doubles champion said. “I went from no one knowing who I was to people camping outside my house. That match changed everything. From that day forth, the expectation for me to be the next big thing was massive.”

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Kyrgios’ manager Daniel Horsfall – known as Horse – explained how the Australian quickly became labelled as the ‘bad boy’ of tennis as he struggled with his newfound pressure, while his mum revealed that it turned her son into an angry person for a period of time. “He just became aggressive, he was just so angry. Always angry at something,” she confessed.

Meanwhile, Horse asked: “How do you tell a 19-year-old to deal with pressure after beating the world No 1? After that, he was painted as this ‘bad boy’ and then he was the villain. Every article, every tabloid, every person just wanted to have their two cents and tell him what a s*** bloke he was. We even had one of our sporting legends tell him to ‘go back to where he came from’. Who does that?”

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And Kyrgios himself added: “Racism was another unnecessary thing to deal with. It hurt.” The world No 22 has since opened up on his mental struggles and got candid during his run to the Wimbledon final last year, where he explained how he turned things around.

“I think just daily habits and the people around me. I’ve got an incredible support crew. My physio is one of my best friends. My best friend is my agent. I’ve got the best girlfriend in the world. I’ve just got so many people around me, they just support me,” he said during his run to the final last July.

Part one of Break Point will be released on Netflix on Friday January 13.

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