Nick Kyrgios' girlfriend lifts the lid on 'scary' health ordeal in Mexico
Nick Kyrgios' girlfriend has lifted the lid on a frightening health scare she endured after travelling to Mexico with him for a recent tournament. Costeen Hatzi has been travelling with Kyrgios for a number of months on the ATP tour, with the happy couple in Mexico earlier this month for an exhibition event called Tennis Showdown.
However things turned nasty for Hatzi when she had to be taken to hospital shortly after landing. Responding to questions from fans this week, the social media influencer revealed she'd been struck down by a kidney infection.
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“I was so sick in hospital I didn’t get to see much of Mexico!” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself in hospital alongside Kyrgios. “I had a fever on the flight and ended up going straight to emergency when we landed. I had a kidney infection.
“Luckily the tennis association and hospital staff were so extremely caring and helpful. But it was a little scary being so sick in a whole different country. The tacos were amazing though.”
Earlier this week, Kyrgios confirmed he will return to the French Open in 2023 after a six-year hiatus, but only because his girlfriend wants to go to Paris. Kyrgios hasn't played at Roland Garros since 2017 and previously said he hates everything about the clay-court grand slam.
“My girlfriend wants to know Paris, so I’m going to play at Roland-Garros 2023," he said. “It will be good for me to earn some more money, although I would have preferred to stay at home.”
Kyrgios has never made it past the third round of the French Open and clay is his weakest surface. However he said he's confident he can find some form in Paris in 2023.
“I know I can do great results on clay,” he said. “I beat Roger [Federer], [Stan] Wawrinka, I played a final in Estoril… My girl wants to get to know the city so I will have to go this year.”
Nick Kyrgios fumes after missing Newcombe Medal
It's been a tumultuous week for the World No.22, who lashed out on social media on Tuesday after missing out on the prestigious Newcombe Medal. The highest award in Aussie tennis was instead given to Ash Barty, who won the Australian Open in January before retiring from the sport in March.
Many felt Kyrgios should have at least been the joint-winner alongside Barty, if not winning the award outright. In the three months she played, Barty became the first Aussie to win the Australian Open in 44 years, as well as claiming a singles and doubles title in Adelaide.
Kyrgios had easily the best year of his career, winning four titles (including the Australian Open doubles crown) and making it all the way to the Wimbledon singles final where he eventually lost to Novak Djokovic. The only players on the men's tour with a better win percentage in singles in 2022 were Carlos Alcaraz (World No.1), Rafa Nadal (No.2) and Djokovic (No.5).
Kyrgios took to social media to blast Aussie tennis officials for overlooking him. The 27-year-old shared a graphic comparing his year with Barty's on Instagram, writing: "LOL. No respect at all. I don't give a f***."
But the fact that Kyrgios hasn't played Davis Cup - the World Cup of men's tennis - for Australia since 2019 likely worked against him. John Newcombe (the man the Newcombe Medal was named after) won five Davis Cup titles for Australia. As for Kyrgios, he was preparing for an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia around the same time his Davis Cup teammates were playing Canada in the final.
Addressing his absence from the Davis Cup final, Kyrgios said it was an easy decision to take the six-figure payday on offer in Saudi Arabia and claimed a lack of respect from Australian fans makes him hesitant to play for the national side.
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