Nick Kyrgios has accused the ATP of being corrupt in a sensational aftermath to his US Open first-round win over American Steve Johnson.
The tennis firebrand was asked what he thought about being fined a record $US113,000 ($A167,000) for his spectacular meltdown in Cincinnati this month.
“The ATP is pretty corrupt anyway. I’m not fussed about it at all,” he said in a development that will almost certainly force the governing body of men’s tennis to suspend the Australian, having already said it was considering such a move.
“I was fined $113,000 K for what? Why are we talking about something that happened three weeks ago when I just chopped up someone first round of a US Open?”
US Open officials had given Kyrgios the green light to play the final grand slam of the year despite tennis chiefs continuing to weigh up whether or not the temperamental talent should be suspended for his latest outburst in Cincinnati.
The ATP offered no time line around when it would make any decision on Kyrgios’ fate when quizzed on the eve of the Open, which started on Monday.
Believed to be the biggest fine in the sport’s history, Kyrgios was slapped with separate penalties for an audible obscenity, ball abuse, verbal abuse towards the umpire, leaving the court and four counts of unsportsmanlike conduct during his explosive second-round loss to Karen Khachanov.
In addition to the fines, the ATP said it was “looking further into what happened during and immediately after the match to see if additional action is warranted under the Player Major Offence section of the code and that could result in an additional fine and/or suspension”.
But the 24-year-old was unrepentant after progressing to the second round at Flushing Meadows.
“Have you ever sworn at someone before?” he countered at a journalist.
“You’re not an elite athlete.”
Asked if he was saying it was acceptable for elite athletes to swear, he said: “No, I’m just saying people get frustrated. It happens.”
Kyrgios has already been banned once, in late 2016 after tanking in Shanghai, and ordered to undergo counselling.
Adding to Kyrgios’s troubles was a fan tweeting vulgar video footage of him courtside after his win over Johnson.
“Always classy Nick Kyrgios. Wipes his sweat, crotch, armpits, then spits in a towel, right before throwing it to some fans. Real cool @NickKyrgios ?? the fan posted.
Kyrgios’s latest antics and accusations are sure to again test the patience of the ATP.
The US Open is run independently but a USTA official told AAP pre-tournament that organisers of the season’s final grand slam would follow the ATP’s lead when asked if Kyrgios could be banned.