Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios certainly isn’t hiding exactly why he chose to miss the Davis Cup.
The Wimbledon finalist opted to miss Australia’s Davis Cup campaign, which saw a team of Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matt Ebden lose to Canada in the final.
It was the first time Australia had reached the Cup decider in 19 years, but they were ultimately unsuccessful without their number-one ranked player in their squad.
Kyrgios has been on a tear in the past 12 months, but hasn’t represented his country in three years.
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And once again he decided to sit out.
His reason was simple as well, he is set to score a six-figure appearance fee for taking part in the lucrative exhibition event in Saudi Arabia, the Diriyah Tennis cup.
He’s also set to travel to Dubai for the World Tennis League between December 19 and 24.
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And he wasn’t shy about voicing his motivation.
He wrote on Instagram: “Saudi Arabia and Dubai is all that’s left. You know I gotta get the bag.”
Davis Cup star Alex de Minaur was superb throughout the tournament but ultimately went down in straight sets to Auguer-Aliassime in the final.
He and teammate Lleyton Hewitt were seemingly unimpressed with Kyrgios choosing not to join the team.
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Hewitt shed some light on whether Kyrgios had been asked to play, saying ‘of course’ he had tried to convince him.
The Australian captain said: “I don’t know. You have to ask him. I can’t try any harder.”
Meanwhile, De Minaur offered a similar frustrated reply, saying: “I try and come here with the best possible team we could field.
“I have tried as well. Just wasn’t meant to be.”
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One social media user also questioned Kyrgios’ absence while commenting on De Minaur’s post where he maintained how honoured he was to represent Australia.
Kyrgios seemed to catch wind of the comment and once again took the chance to talk about his paycheck without shame.
The tennis star replied: “About to go to Saudi for six figures actually.”
Sports stars have been criticised for their involvement in the Saudi Arabian tournament.
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England’s Cameron Norrie in particular has been slammed by Amnesty International UK’s Felix Jakens who accused him of taking part in ‘the latest jamboree of Saudi sportswashing’.
Featured Image Credit: Nicolò Campo / Alamy. @diriyahtenniscup/Instagram.Topics: Australia, Tennis, Saudi Arabia, Nick Kyrgios