Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios weren’t the best of buddies during their time together on tour. The mercurial Australian had even opened up last year on why Nadal’s inimitable perseverance and talent made him idolise and despise the Spaniard at the same time.
The 30-year-old Kyrgios recently revealed one such instance when his volatile emotions had probably gone a tad overboard after a feisty encounter in the 2017 Beijing Open in China. Shortly after thwarting Nadal at the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals in straight sets that year, Krygios waltzed to the final in the Beijing hard courts, facing up for his fourth clash against Nadal since winning their first meeting at 2014 Wimbledon.
Kyrios could not bear the outcome of that night. A devastating 6-2, 6-1 defeat to Nadal was so brutal that he had a straight shot back at his legendary opponent after checking in at the hotel.
“He beat me in the final of Beijing, and he destroyed me. I was having a really good week, finals of Beijing, pretty big tournament,” Kyrgios said.
“I get destroyed by Nadal. Having a couple of wines that night, having a couple of drinks with my boys. I was like, ‘You know what? This guy just destroyed me, probably earned over $1million that week.’
Kyrgios went further, revealing how he jotted down Nadal’s signature on the bills.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to put all of my room service…’ It was actually in a hotel restaurant, I just put it on Nadal’s room and I just signed it as Nadal,” Krygios said with a chuckle.
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Kyrgios, however, made it clear that he wasn’t seeking an apology from the 22-time Grand Slam champion who’s made USD 134,946,100 in career prize money, the second-highest in men’s tennis, only behind Novak Djokovic.
“The waitress had no idea so to this day, I’m sorry Rafa, if you got this outstanding couple grand bill from me.
“I’m sorry… Actually, I’m not sorry at all, you’ve earned way too much cash in your career.”
🤦♂️ “Nadal beat me in Beijing & he destroyed me.”
👀 “I had a couple of wines… I put it all on his room.”
🤣 “I’m sorry… actually I’m not sorry!”
Nick Kyrgios reveals this wild story about Rafa Nadal and his hotel room bill 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZXINGTNTxL
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 10, 2025
Why Kyrgios ‘despised’ Nadal
In December 2024, Kyrgios had recollected how Nadal’s energies brought out the best in him. In nine of their completed contests, Kyrgios ended up trumping Nadal on three occasions while their last slated contest in the 2022 Wimbledon semi-final ended with Nadal opting out due to injury.
“I couldn’t stand him. I used to hate and despise him so much when I saw him walking around,” Kyrgios had explained on the Nothing Major podcast.
“He was one guy who always motivated me.
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“If I played him I would get up for it and try and get the best tennis I could possibly play. I didn’t feel that anger towards Roger (Federer) or Novak (Djokovic) when I played them.
“If I played Rafa, because everyone in our academies back home idolised him, they were like he is such a hard worker, he’s this and that. I was like ‘I can’t stand this guy’. I wanted to show people you could just have fun and be chilled and beat people like that.”
