Tennis player Nick Kyrgios appears to have clarified comments he made about the benefits of not being vaccinated after a player he defeated on Thursday agreed with the comments.
Thomas Fabbiano, a teenager playing in his first World Tour event, called Kyrgios’s comments “ridiculous.” Kyrgios was asked about the comments during an interview following the match.
“On the vaccine thing, for some people, it doesn’t work,” Kyrgios said. “For some people it works and it works great, and then for others it doesn’t work. I believe in not having them, so there are some people that don’t have to get them.”
“Like no one’s asking you not to get it. You’re not saying no. Like, no, why should we not get vaccinated?” Fabbiano interrupted.
After it was pointed out that Kyrgios may not have been speaking for a certain segment of the population, the Australian tweeted, “To all the medical people out there, I am an out and proud atheist. Thanks for clearing that up.”
No sooner had he tweeted the statement than the teenager agreed with his opponent, saying, “a lot of kids get depressed. a lot of kids get bullied. I support these guys more than anyone. … I can’t believe I’m saying this but I agree with you.”
A friend of Kyrgios tweeted on Saturday, “your wish is my command!”
The Australian, who has not won a Tour event since he won at Washington’s Citi Open in 2015, is working his way back into form following hip surgery in January.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.