‘Something negative will happen’ – Rafael Nadal calls for stricter rules after Nick Kyrgios outburst

Rafael Nadal has urged the ATP to establish stricter rules after Nick Kyrgios became the latest player to come close to hurting someone with his racquet. Nadal extended his winning streak in 2022 to 19 matches with a three-set win over Kyrgios at Indian Wells, who smashed his racquet into the ground in fury after the match – sending it down the court and forcing a ball boy to take evasive action. Ad/> It came less than a month after Alexander Zverev’s shocking outburst at the Acapulco Open in Mexico.

Zverev was widely condemned for smashing umpire Alessandro Germani’s chair with his racquet after a doubles defeat, narrowly missing his feet. Zverev was handed a suspended eight-week ban and a suspended $25,000 (£19,000) fine. ATP Indian WellsNorrie's Indian Wells title defence ends with defeat to Alcaraz42 MINUTES AGO While admitting he did not see the Kyrgios incident, which happened when the Spaniard was celebrating, Nadal said that unless the ATP took action “something negative” would happen.

«I like him (Nick Kyrgios) like a character. But of course when you cross some lines, then the thing becomes different, no,” said Nadal. “And the problem is, in my opinion, when you allow the players to do stuff, then you don't know where the line is.

And it's a tricky thing. “But probably because these situations are happening more and more often, the ATP should review things and make decisions. Not about today's match because I didn't see what happened at the end, so I can’t have an opinion.