- The couple has been fighting for years
- Becker launched a new attack on Kyrgios
- Aussie responded in a ferocious manner
The long-running feud between polarizing tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Boris Becker has gone nuclear, with the Australian bringing up the German champion's jail sentence in their online war of words.
The pair have been firing at each other since 2020, when Becker called Kyrgios a 'rat' for his comments about fellow tennis professional Alex Zverev during the Covid pandemic.
That was the start of a long battle between the two, with Kyrgios at one point calling him a 'doughnut'.
Becker taunted Kyrgios again earlier in 2023, questioning whether he was telling the truth about the knee injury that ruined his Australian Open campaign.
Kyrgios recently returned to service, saying Becker and other greats of his era couldn't cut it in the modern game.
Kyrgios and Becker have been involved in an ongoing feud for years, which has recently escalated again
Becker claims that players from his decade created a tennis world where players like Kyrgios could enjoy fame and money even when they were not playing
“The game was so slow back then,” the 28-year-old said.
'I've seen Boris Becker and I'm not saying they weren't good in their time, but to say they would be just as good now is absurd.
'A large increase at the time was 197 to 200 km/h. People like me serve 220 consistently, right into the corners. It's a completely different story.'
That clearly rattled the former world number 1, with the 56-year-old German launching a series of new attacks on Kyrgios.
Becker says the sport's legends have made it possible for the injured Australian to make a living from tennis without playing year-round.
“You have to respect the past and just say 'thank you' out loud that these old pros existed, because without them the tennis circus would no longer exist,” he said.
Kyrgios, however, was having none of that, saying he earned his own notoriety by taking a stab at Becker's criminal past.
'Uhhh what? I may have been one of the most watched players outside the big three in the last ten years?' Kyrgios posted on X.
“Fans around the world have brought so many more people to the sport. I made my own stuff off the field. Stop trying to hide assets x.”
That last sentence was a comment on Becker's recent financial turmoil that led to his imprisonment in 2017.
The former tennis champion was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges related to hiding assets during his bankruptcy proceedings.
Becker was a former world number 1, but he squandered his fortune and was jailed for hiding assets
Kyrgios got personal, calling Becker's bankruptcy and resulting prison sentence an insult
Kyrgios wasn't done there yet. He shared another post of Becker's comments with the caption “bro what” and a series of laughing emojis.
“I am one of the few players who have brought a million more fans to the sport and made more money for everyone,” he wrote.
'NETFLIX…. I don't remember seeing Boris there. Dude is ridiculous. I made my career off the field without the help of the others.'
That wasn't the end of the spray, with Kyrgios posting a third comment that seemed firmly aimed at Becker.
“Yuhhhh, keep talking, you're not relevant, no more idiots,” he posted.