Outspoken AFL premiership winner Kane Cornes has sharpened his pencil to launch a fresh attack on Nick Kyrgios, listing a staggering 16 indiscretions commited by the polarising Aussie tennis star.
Kyrgios is never far from the headlines and grabbed the spotlight against this week after 24-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic launched a protest against Channel Nine’s Tony Jones.
Jones had earned the ire of the Serbian star by mocking him and his supporters during a live cross from Melbourne Park on Friday.
Djokovic refused to honour media committments until Jones apologised publicly, which he did on Monday.
That led Kyrgios to come in swinging, attacking Jones four times on social media.
‘Coming from this clown – couldn’t run around a park this bloke,’ he posted on Sunday.
Former AFL star Kane Cornes launched a second stunning attack on Nick Kyrgios live on air
Cornes slammed Kyrgios by going through a long list of indiscretions the maverick star has committed over the years
Cornes was upset that Kyrgios had been so vocal about Channel Nine personality Tony Jones’ comments about Novak Djokovic
‘Why is it always the most un athletic people calling out the best athletes in the world,’ he then commented on X, along with a loudly crying face emoji.
Then he followed that up with another attack on Monday, saying: ‘How the f**k does this guy still have a f**king job? It is putrid stuff. Tony Jones, you absolute flop. F**king Chompers, mate.’
He then posted a video on his Instagram page poking fun at Jones with Australian comedian Elliot Loney.
Cornes had previously lashed Kyrgios for his constant attacks, calling him a ‘child’ and ‘the most disappointing Australian athlete ever’.
Kyrgios did not take those comments well, replying: ‘Gotta love comments from a athlete who didn’t play a global sport appreciate the kind words brother.’
But Cornes could not let the issue rest.
On Tuesday, the former Port Adelaide star targeted Kyrgios again for his attacks on Jones and delivered a shopping list of indiscretions over the years to prove his point.
‘I just can’t believe I’m going here again but it never ceases to amaze me with Nick Kyrgios and the lack of self-awareness around this guy,’ Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
Kyrgios is the most-fined player on the ATP tour because of his volatile nature
‘I just couldn’t let him get away with the disrespect in that, and I wasn’t here to defend Tony Jones, none of us were, we completely disagree with what TJ did.
‘But in the end it was ill-timed, awkward humour, there was no malice in what Tony Jones has said compared to what Nick Kyrgios has done.
‘He’s saying that Tony Jones shouldn’t have a job as a result, but I just want to remind Nick of some of the things that he has done over the journey that makes what Tony Jones did pale into insignificance in terms of misdemeanours.
‘The list of things that Nick has done, I was actually shocked going back and looking at what he has done. This is why he is Australia’s most disappointing athlete.’
Cornes then began to rattle off the list of indiscretions, including:
- The Shanghai Masters in 2017 where he was fined $32,000 because of a lack of effort. Kyrgios retired halfway through his first round match against Steve Johnson, later blaming a stomach bug
- Having a crack at the chair umpire during the same match, which led to a $10,000 fine
- Being disqualified at the 2019 Italian Open after a string of events including having a crack at a fan, kicking a water bottle, throwing his racquet, throwing something at the court umpire’s chair and then quitting the match
- Received a $113,000 (AUD $166,714) fine at the Cincinnati Masters after smashing two racquets and referring to the chair umpire as a ‘tool’ and calling the ATP ‘corrupt’
- Repeated cracks at Novak Djokovic ‘who now he thinks is his best mate’, including calling him a ‘tool’ during Covid
- Received a $35,000 fine for four offences in a match against Jannik Sinner in 2022, including verbal abuse and two fines for unsportsmanlike conduct
- Pleaded guilty in 2023 to assaulting his former girlfriend Chiara Passari, but a conviction was not recorded by the magistrate. The victim said she had been ‘severely traumatised’ by the incident
- Settled a legal case with a fan he accused of having ‘about 700 drinks’ after she sued him for defamation over comments made in the Wimbledon final
- Had a crack at Stan Wawrinka by telling him fellow Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis slept with his girlfriend.
- The attacks on Jannik Sinner over the positive performance enhancing drug result he returned in 2024 and Kyrgios’ perceived lack of action
- The attack on Lleyton and Cruz Hewitt over perceived favouritism the tennis great’s son was getting after Cruz posted a photo with Jannik Sinner following a training session with the Italian
- The ongoing feud with six-time grand slam winning champion Boris Becker
- His attack on former Australian doubles champion Todd Woodbridge after the Channel Nine commentator questioned Thanasi Kokkinakis’ motives
- Ongoing social media spats with Bernard Tomic
- Feud with Lleyton Hewitt, accusing the Australian team captain of ‘throwing him under the bus’ over Davis Cup selections
- Having a crack at Dawn Fraser after the swimming great said he should ‘go back to where [his] parents came from’. Fraser would later apologise for her comment.
‘And this guy stands up and calls Tony Jones whatever he did yesterday, a flop or whatever the words he used are,’ Cornes continued.
‘The lack of self-awareness around this guy, how glassy his jaw is, is like nothing I have ever seen.
‘That is why he is 100 per cent Australia’s most disappointing athlete for what he could have been versus what he’s turned out to be.’
Kyrgios is yet to return serve.
