Tennis badboy Nick Kyrgios has provoked outrage after sledging opponent Stan Wawrinka and "slut-shaming" his girlfriend at a tournament in Canada.
The Australian was caught on camera mouthing off at his rival as they changed ends during a clash at the Montreal Masters, and was heard telling the Swiss: "Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that mate."
His comment is believed to be a reference to rumours of a recent romance between Wawrinka, who split from his wife earlier this year, and 19-year-old Croatian player Donna Vekic. The other player Kyrgios mentions is fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, a friend of Vekic who was her mixed doubles partner at the 2014 Australian Open.
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Wawrinka appeared not to hear the comment at the time, but posted a series of furious tweets after conceding the match in the third set with a back problem.
He described Kyrgios's actions as "unacceptable" and added: "There is no need for this kind of behaviour on or off the court and I hope the governing body... does not stand for this and stands up for the integrity of this sport that we have worked so hard to build."
The Australian player later claimed that his comment was a retaliation after Wawrinka started "getting a bit lippy with me".
The 20-year-old, ranked 40 in the world and tipped for greatness by some, has "fast become the biggest brat on the tennis circuit", says the Daily Mail. His comments meant the "gentleman's game" had "descended from strawberries and cream into rancour", reports The Times.
Kyrgios rose to prominence after beating Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014, but has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons since then. "Kyrgios is one of the most colourful and controversial characters on the circuit, with his antics ranging from on-court outbursts at match officials to being accused of giving up half-way through a match at Wimbledon earlier this year," says the Daily Telegraph. "But his exploits on Wednesday night have caused arguably the greatest controversy yet."
Aside from the bad blood the incident has created between the two players, others were concerned about the effect on Vekic, who many felt had been "slut-shamed" by the Australian player.
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