Wimbledon bad boy Nick Kyrgios causes carnage with angry umpire row

Nick Kyrgios became embroiled in a foul-mouthed row with a Wimbledon umpire

Nick Kyrgios returned to court at Wimbledon and risked a fine by swearing in a conversation with the umpire.

The Australian was in men’s doubles action on Wednesday alongside Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and expressed his frustrations during the second set of their encounter against Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

Kyrgios was hit with several fines during his last SW19 appearance in 2022, when he reached the final, and has also addressed dropping F-bombs in front of the Royal Box. This time, he informed the umpire he was ready to accept yet another fine and criticised “dumb” regulations.

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“Honestly at this point you can fine me, I honestly don’t even care,” the 31-year-old said. “Honestly you can fine me, I don’t give a s***. All these rules are so dumb anyway.”

It was unclear what the umpire said to him to trigger the outburst, which came after Arevalo and Pavic broke to lead 1-0 at the start of the second set. Following the exchange, he appeared to shake his head while adjusting his cap and returning to his position on court.

According to the Grand Slam rulebook, Kyrgios could face a substantial fine for swearing. “Players shall not use audible obscenity within the precinct of the tournament site. Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $50,000 (£37,000) for each violation,” the rules read.

“Players and their accredited support team members shall at all times conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner and give due regard to the authority of officials and the rights of opponents, spectators and others. Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $100,000 for each violation.”

Arevalo and Pavic took an early lead and the Kyrgios-Bublik duo failed to secure any of the first six points. A single break was all that was needed for the seeded pair to clinch the opening set 6-3, with Kyrgios and Bublik unable to capitalise on their only break point.

After they were broken early in the second set, Kyrgios and Bublik managed to stay within reach against opponents who reached the semi-finals in 2025. However, they were unable to secure the vital break back, losing 6-3, 6-4 and allowing their rivals to set up a second round clash with Marcus Willis and David Stevenson of Great Britain.

Kyrgios’ partner Bublik has already progressed to the second round of the men’s singles, but the pair found the going tougher against their seeded doubles opponents. Kyrgios himself boasts a Grand Slam doubles victory, having won the Australian Open title alongside fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2022.