Tennis fans call out Nick Kyrgios for allegedly fat-shaming broadcaster Ben Rothenberg in social media post
Tennis fans have accused Nick Kyrgios of fat-shaming journalist Ben Rothenberg in a post made by the Australian on social media on Sunday evening.
Kyrgios, 30, responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter, which showed a picture of Rothenberg.
The original post by the account @TennisCentel claimed that Rothenberg was ‘built like a groundhog’ – a notion that Kyrgios appeared to back with the comment as he responded ‘tennis central’.
While Kyrgios may have made the comment as a joke, its tone was not appreciated by fans of the sport, who were quick to voice their support for Rothenberg.
One user commented: ‘[Rothenberg is] still more relevant in tennis than you.’
A second remarked: ‘Bully and nothing else. Just sad. Used to support you.’
Nick Kyrgios has come in for criticism for comments made over Ben Rothenberg’s weight
Tennis journalist Rothenberg has a long-running feud with Kyrgios dating back five years
Rothenberg responded to Kyrgios’ comments as the pair engaged in a war of words
Kyrgios then replied to further stoke fuel on the fire that was raging between them
Another stated: ‘This isn’t high school, grow up’.
In response to Kyrgios, Rothenberg wrote: ‘Bro you have tweeted about me four times already this month and it’s only July 6th. Let’s work on getting you a job again.’
The former world number 11 responded: ‘Awwww Benny I’m doing just fine. Someone’s feelings are hurting…not so fun anymore is it?’
Their online battle of words marks the latest episode of a clash between the pair that has lasted almost five years.
The American journalist has repeatedly called for Kyrgios to be removed from covering tennis events – most recently for controversial tweets demeaning a WTA player.
“Honestly a bit surprised to see ESPN didn’t yank Nick Kyrgios off air mid-#USOpen final, seeing his most recent disparaging tweet about a WTA player circulating,” Rothenberg wrote last year during the US Open.
That came after he replied to a tweet responding to a post about Jannik Sinner’s girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya – in which he wrote ‘second serve’.
Kyrgios was also critical of the doping saga that engulfed Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner last year.
Tennis fans were quick to lambast Kyrgios for his comments
The Italian was later banned for three months for breaching the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) rules last year after he provided two positive drugs tests.
A further comment read: ‘And then you wonder why the BBC dropped you from their Wimbledon coverage.
For someone who has been open about their mental health struggles, it’s pretty damn obvious that you’ve still got a hell of a lot of work left to do in that department.’
Kyrgios – a Wimbledon finalist in 2022 – was axed from the BBC’s coverage of this year’s tournament following backlash that he was included as part of the original presenter line-up for 2025.
He was part of the broadcaster’s coverage of the event in 2024, 12 months after Kyrgios had admitted to assaulting his former girlfriend Chiara Passari.
