Last Updated:
Jannik Sinner won his third Grand Slam at the 2025 Australia Open.
Jannik Sinner and Nick Kyrgios at Australian Open (AP)
Australian tennis ace Nick Kyrgios took a jibe at the recently crowned Australia Open champion Jannik Sinner. Kyrgios is in the spotlight after the Sinner retained his crown at the Rod Laver Arena on January 26. His dig at Sinner came after a popular tennis page named Swish Court shared a meme highlighting Kyrgios’ win record in 2025, while humorously comparing it to ‘BYE’s’ performance. A BYE refers to a player’s automatic advancement to the next round without playing an opponent. “BYE has won more matches than Nick Kyrgios in 2025,” the post read. The Australian, widely known for his wit, responded adeptly and pointed out that BYE had also failed fewer drug tests than the Australia Open winner. “Bye has failed less drug tests than Sinner,” he wrote.
Bye has failed less drug tests than sinner— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 29, 2025
Nick Kyrgios seemingly pointed towards the two drug tests Jannik Sinner had failed in March last year. It was reported that a banned steroid named Clostebol was detected in his system. Sinner asserted his innocence, claiming that the substance entered his body due to a massage from his physiotherapist. The Italian said a clostebol-infused spray was applied to his fingers for wound treatment. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) allowed Sinner to continue participating in tournaments after the appeal. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, appealed ITIA’s decision to clear Sinner. It further promoted the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to organise a hearing around those doping allegations.
The allegations didn’t stop Jannik Sinner from picking up his third Grand Slam at the 2025 Australia Open. He successfully defended his crown with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over German tennis ace Alexander Zverev. Speaking about his win after the game, Sinner revealed he wanted to go all out on the court. “In your mind, there is only one match left. You want to empty your tank a little bit. That was what I was trying to do,” he said. “It is definitely a different feeling for sure. I know how much work I put into this one and having this one twice it’s amazing,” Sinner added.
As for Nick Kyrgios, the Aussie returned to professional tennis in the 2025 season. He competed at the Brisbane International to show he was back in business. Kyrgios featured in an exciting three-set match against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard but was eventually beaten. In the 2025 Australia Open, Kyrgios joined forces with all-time leading Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic to compete in the doubles event. The star duo faced elimination in the event’s second round.
