Nick Kyrgios will be a good addition to the BBC’s Wimbledon team with his new colleague Andrew Castle saying “he gives interesting observations which are unique in many ways”.
Former world No 13 Kyrgios won’t play in the main draw at Wimbledon this year due to injury, but he will feature at SW19 as he has been added to the public broadcaster’s pundit team along with former world No 1 Ashleigh Barty.
The two Australians will commentate alongside BBC regulars John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Tracy Austin while Castle will once again be the lead commentator.
The Wimbledon gig won’t be Kyrgios’ first time behind the microphone of a big event as he commentated at the 2023 ATP Finals and the 2024 Australian Open.
The move from the BBC, though, hasn’t gone down well with many due to Kyrgios’ chequered past, but Castle explained what the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up will bring to the table.
“Well, I’ll tell you what my reaction wasn’t – surprise. It was something I expected to happen after I heard him commentating last time out [at the Australian Open],” he told Metro.co.uk.
“What has surprised me is that people seem surprised that he is articulate, intelligent, current and sharp-witted. That’s not a surprise to me. A lot of people who demonstrate the kind of talent and behaviour on the court that he does, a lot of them have very active minds.
“I know there’s controversy around it. But the point is this: He’s very good at commentary. He gives interesting observations which are unique in many ways. I’m looking forward to it.”
There are also no hard feelings from Castle after Kyrgios infamously referred to him as a “clown” during Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final.
“Whoever is the clown next to [Todd] Woodbridge in that commentator box needs to just not speak ?? spoiling the match big time,” the Australian wrote on X.
The comment naturally made headlines as Castle feels Kyrgios is the “real golden boy” of “clickbait” content.
“It was along the lines of calling the commentator an idiot. The commentator was either me or Todd Woodbridge. It could’ve been Tim Henman, there were three of us in there,” he said.
“I’ve got no issue at all with any of that. Everyone has the right to an opinion. Especially someone who’s been in a Wimbledon final. But, you know, the fact is that sitting on your sofa or in your car, it’s pretty easy from there.
“So … whatever … the point of social media is that everyone has a say, including Nick. Hey, I’m not surprised it got picked up on. Everything Nick says gets picked up. In this world of clickbait-driven stuff, he’s a real golden boy. I look forward to seeing him and working with him.’