Nick Kyrgios apologizes after nearly hitting ball boy with racket at Indian Wells

Kyrgios hurled his racket in anger after losing to Rafael Nadal

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has apologized after a racket he threw in a fit of rage following a loss almost hit a nearby ball boy. The outburst occurred following a loss to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells that encapsulated Kyrgios' brilliance and volatility alike.

In the first set, Kyrgios received a warning for smashing a racket and then lost the set after being penalized for swearing at a spectator. He recovered to win the second set before ultimately falling to Nadal 7-6 (0) 5-7 6-4.

After the match, Kyrgios hurled his racket in frustration, causing a ball boy standing at the back of the court to scramble to avoid being hit. Kyrgios apologized on social media, sharing screenshots of a text exchange with the ball boy where he promised to give him a racket for his trouble.

Made a new friend in the process 🤍 accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better 🥶👑 pic.twitter.com/G0gI5QpmBy

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 18, 2022

Kyrgios made amends for his outburst after initially taking umbrage when asked about it in a post-match press conference, where he defended himself and claimed he had not meant for the ball boy to end up in harm's way.

"Did I throw the racket anywhere near him originally? It landed a meter from my foot and skidded and nearly hit him," Kyrgios said, per Eleanor Crooks of PA Media. "I'm human. Things happen like that. Obviously it was a very misfortunate bounce. I think if I did that a million times over it wouldn't have gone that way."

Kyrgios' fit of rage continues a recent pattern in tennis. Not long ago, Alexander Zverev was disqualified from the Mexican Open and later received a suspended ban for smashing his racket against the umpire's chair. As one of tennis' most prominent players, Nadal has advocated for stricter sanctions for behavioral issues -- but not in Kyrgios' case in particular.

"I think Nick had a great attitude during the whole match in terms of fighting spirit and of course he has his personality, his character," Nadal said. "Sometimes he does things that I personally don't like, but I respect because of different character, different points of view, and a different kind of education."

Nadal's victory against Kyrgios moved him on to the semifinal at Indian Wells, where he will face 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.