Nearly a week after Nick Kyrgios (photo ©Carine06) trash-talked Stan Wawrinka in the Montreal tournament the case keeps on shaking the world of tennis. A story that had a squalid beginning started leaving consequences from various points of view involving other people. All this waiting for other possible sanctions against the Australian tennis player after the $10,000 fine already imposed on him.

The event that sparked it all happened last week, during a match on Wednesday in Montreal. Kyrgios, bringing up his fellow player Thanasi Kokkinakis, said to Stan Wawrinka: “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend.”. The girl in question is Donna Vekic, who is also a tennis player.

The case blew up immediately with heavy criticism on Nick Kyrgios first by his fellow players. The Australian has subsequently apologized with a statement on Facebook but the fine was inevitable. $10,000 is the maximum penalty possible on-site by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) rules, however, a formal investigation was opened to assess if the actions of Kyrgios breach the rules on conduct that players should observe.

After the fine, the official intervention of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) also came, by its chairman Stacey Allaster. In a statement, Allaster commented that “The statement made by Nick Kyrgios is crude and unacceptable” and called for more sanctions against the player.

Christos Kyrgios, Nick’s brother, had the fantastic idea of making the situation even worse with more explicit statements on Thanasi Kokkinakis and Donna Vekic, in particular the fact that in his opinion she “loved the Kokk”.

For some days Thanasi Kokkinakis remained silent but in the first qualifying round of the Cincinnati tournament he was provoked on court by Ryan Harrison. The American joked about the Australian’s friends and teased in various ways. In the end, it was necessary to divide the two players to avoid a fight.

Nick Kyrgios is one of the most promising young players but he’s also in the spotlight for controversial conducts. In the past, “bad boys” were basically accepted in the tennis world though there were not many of them but after McEnroe things changed and today certain behaviors are sanctioned.

The level at which Nick Kyrgios stooped was really vulgar. I’m really stating the obvious writing that he should focus on playing instead of talking. The question of the sanctions is that in the tennis world there are top players who earn millions and others who are honest workers and earn the little that allows them to support themselves. The consequence is that fines make sense if they are proportional to earnings.

Despite being only 20 years old, Nick Kyrgios is already earning a lot so heavy sanctions are needed to really hit him. The ATP also has the option to disqualify him and making him skip a few major tournament would bring significant damage. If the ATP wants to send a clear message, it’s necessary that the measures against the Australian player get carefully thought.