Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios locked in as Wimbledon makes huge announcement for grand slam
Barty and Kyrgios will both be in the commentary team for Wimbledon.
Australian tennis greats Nick Kyrgios and Ash Barty have both been announced as Wimbledon commentators, as the pair continue to pursue career paths off the tennis court. During the Summer of Sport event in London, BBC's content boss Charlotte Moore confirmed that both Barty and Kyrgios had signed deals to join the BBC team as pundits for the grand slam that kicks off in July.
They will be joined by fellow Aussie Pat Cash, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, and Billie Jean King. "A host of Wimbledon champions will be joining the studio," Moore said in a statement.
"This will include John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Pat Cash alongside Tim Henman, Tracey Austin, Annabel Croft and Johanna Konta. Joining the line-up this year will be 2021 champion Ashleigh Barty and, if he’s not playing, 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, so anything could happen there."
Barty shocked the tennis world when she announced her retirement in 2022 but she will return to commentate at the venue where she was crowned champion in 2021. While the announcement of Kyrgios' commentary gig was with the caveat that it is only if he isn't playing.
Kyrgios was not on the initial entry list for this year's Wimbledon tournament but he could yet receive a wildcard. However, the Aussie sports star has endured a nightmare last 12 months, only managing a single match at the ATP level and has not played a competitive match in 2024.
Kyrgios was part of the Australian Open commentary team for Eurosport at the start of this year. It came on the back of his successful commentary debut for the same network at last year's season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, where he gained praise for providing a unique insight into the action from a current player's perspective.
The Aussie, who made the final at Wimbledon in 2022 but lost to Novak Djokovic, previously admitted he probably would have walked away from tennis if he had won the tournament. But upon reflecting on whether he wants to return to tennis after his long injury layoff, the Aussie star said he realised that he is keen to get back into it and still feels like he has a lot to prove to himself.
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Nick Kyrgios says the fire is back to play again
Kyrgios has spoken on multiple occasions about falling out of love with tennis. In early 2023 the Aussie tennis star said there was "no way" he'd still be playing professionally in five years. However, in an interview on the AO Show podcast, earlier this year Kyrgios revealed the fire in his belly had returned and promised fans he would be back on the court in the near future.
"I'll be back on court soon and I'll give you a little bit more to cheer about, that's for sure," the 28-year-old said when asked if he had a message for his fans. "It's arguably been one of the hardest years of my life tennis-wise," the Australian conceded after his best year in 2022 was followed by an injury-hit, write-off of a campaign in 2023.
