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Bad boy Kyrgios accepts ‘urgent need for change’

Tennis Australia (TA) say bad boy Nick Kyrgios understands his behaviour requires significant improvement.

Kyrgios – who has attracted controversy throughout a turbulent 2015 – was initially fined $US10,000 for offensive on-court comments to Stanislas Wawrinka earlier this month.

The 20-year-old, who is ranked 37th in the world, was punished further by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on Monday (AEST), when they hit him with a 28-day ban and a $US25,000 fine.

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Both punishments were suspended, though, and will only be implemented if Kyrgios is fined for verbal or physical abuse at ATP events in the next six months.

TA said they supported the ATP’s tough stance on Kyrgios, with President Steve Healy saying in a statement that the organisation would continue to work closely with the player.

“Tennis Australia supports and will uphold the ATP’s sanction on Nick across events under our jurisdiction,” the statement read.

“As we have said before, Nick’s actions were irresponsible and unacceptable.

“The ATP has disciplined him appropriately and indicated he has to “earn his way out of additional sanctions”, a position we also feel strongly about.

“Our high performance team continues to work closely with Nick and his management on a range of actions to help him achieve immediate and long-term improvements in his demeanour and well-being.

“These recent events have impacted Nick significantly.

“He has demonstrated remorse and accepted the urgent need for change.

“He is now focused on trying to do what is needed to redeem this situation, both personally and professionally.

“Tennis Australia is adamant there is a need for a long-term and consistent effort from Nick to show he has learned from this.”

Kyrgios is not seeded for the final grand slam of the tennis year, the US Open, which begins on Monday.

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