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SI Insider: Controversial Tennis Player Nick Kyrgios Turned 25, and Now It's Time For Him to Step Forward

SI's Jon Wertheim shares his hopes for Kyrgios
Jon Wertheim|

Nick Kyrgios is controversial because he wants to be controversial. Sometimes it's fun to watch. Other times it's cringeworthy. He turned twenty-five this week and I'm the one with the birthday wish. I hope this marks a period of Nick Kyrgios taking a step forward. 

By age twenty-five, Roger Federer had eight major titles. When Rafael Nadal turned twenty-five, that week he won his 10th major title. Novak Djokovic had five major titles by the time he turned twenty-five. 

Nick Kyrgios has not been in the top ten. He is so talented. He is so good for the sport. And At heart, he's a good person. He turned twenty-five this week and the big story was he and another player were pranking each other: Nick Kyrgios' phone number ended up on social media and it made for a good laugh. But let that not mask the fact that at age twenty-five it's time he tapped into that talent and took a step on the way to greatness. And hopefully he'll see this birthday as a real milestone, not just personally, but for his tennis and professionalism too. 

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Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for “60 Minutes” and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor’s in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City and Paris with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.

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