Nick Kyrgios offers to personally drop off food amid lockdown

April 07, 2020 09:55 pm | Updated 09:55 pm IST - SYDNEY

Australia's Nick Kyrgios tosses a ball in the air as he waits to serve, during his first round match against France's Ugo Humbert at the Mexican Tennis Open, in Acapulco, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Australia's Nick Kyrgios tosses a ball in the air as he waits to serve, during his first round match against France's Ugo Humbert at the Mexican Tennis Open, in Acapulco, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios has offered to deliver food persnally to people finding themselves hungry during the coronavirus lockdown. “Please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach. Even just for a box of noodles, a loaf of bread or milk. I will drop it off at your doorstep, no questions asked!” he said in an Instagram post late on Monday.

The Canberra-based Kyrgios, infamously outspoken and known for his fiery on-court antics, said he would personally drop food on doorsteps after COVID-19 restrictions closed down entire industries, forcing huge numbers of people out of work across Australia.

People queueing for welfare payments around the country have been likened to scenes from the Great Depression, as all non-essential business and travel are banned to contain the virus.

In January, Kyrgios led a bushfire relief campaign which raised millions of dollars.

The 24-year-old contributed Aus$200 (US$125) for every ace he hit across his home tennis summer, which ran until the end of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open.

Players and Australian Open organisers also contributed to relief for the deadly fires, but it was Kyrgios who was seen as driving sport's fundraising efforts, gaining him new respect.

Kyrgios cited the crisis for changing his outlook on life in the wake of being handed a 16-week suspended ban in September 2019 for a series of outbursts.

“I guess it's just a perspective thing, isn't it?” he said. “Why am I really getting mad on the tennis court with everything going on?”

Since then, the year's next two Grand Slams have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with the French Open postponed and Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.

There will be no professional tennis anywhere in the world until at least July 13 after the governing bodies ITF, ATP and WTA suspended all tournaments with coronavirus causing an almost complete shutdown of the global sporting calendar.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.