Opinion | 'Unreconstructed' or not, why Aussie 'larrikin' Nick Kyrgios needs to grow up and shut up

Beware tennis; the scourge of the unreconstructed larrikins is now upon us. An unabashedly shameful lot, they also seem to be embracing the steady drip of opprobrium. Got it? Good, then maybe you can explain it all to me because it seems that some members of the media blessed with a penchant for grandiose verbosity are confusing those of us lacking in similar gifts.

A larrikin is a term for a boisterous young man who behaves badly and belongs to the beguiling vernacular indigenous to our friends from Australia. Now an unreconstructed larrikin, a phrase used last week by a notable writer, would refer to a badly behaved young man who is not reconciled to the current political correctness. On the surface at least, it would seem that the two terms used in conjunction would be superfluous and redundant. Whether they admit it or not, the history of unreconstructed larrikins in men's tennis is also somewhat redundant.

We have seen it many, many times before with the latest incarnation being a 20-year-old Australian named Nick Kyrgios, whose impetuous behaviour and outlandish comments have landed him in hot water. During a recent match with Stan Wawrinka, Kyrgios' lewd comments about Stan's girlfriend were picked up by on-court microphones.

Compounding his inexcusable behaviour, Kyrgios has seemed to become totally uninterested and abusive in matches when things, most notably the umpiring, does not go his way. The ATP promptly put him on a 28-day probation, which does not cover the US Open and made for an interesting first-round match up last week between Kyrgios and former champ Andy Murray.

Still seeming to sulk from being punished by the tour, Kyrgios put on a mystifying display that included repeatedly slamming his racquet, openly and continuously berating himself, sleeping during changeovers and basically not giving a toss about being competitive.