Boris Becker Roasts Nick Kyrgios After Aussie Says Tennis Legend Wouldn't Be Able To Hang In Today's Game

Boris Becker is a former World No. 1 tennis player with six Grand Slam titles, but wouldn't be able to keep up in today's game according to Nick Kyrgios.

On top of his accomplishments, it turns out Becker is an elite trash-talker as well, and Kyrgios found out the hard way.

The back-and-forth started as a result of Kyrgios' recent sit down with The Athletic in which the Aussie talked about some of the "old heads" of the game. He specifically mentioned Becker by name while explaining how the older generation of players wouldn't stand a chance in today's faster-paced game.

“The game was so slow back then,” Kyrgios explained. “I’ve watched Boris Becker and I’m not saying they weren’t good in their time, but to say that they would be just as good now, it’s absurd,” he says. “A big serve back then was like 197 to 200 (km per hour — about 122mph). People like me, we serve 220 consistently, to corners. It’s a whole different ball game.”

“I’m not saying they wouldn’t have found their way,” Kyrgios said of the old-timers. “But serve and volley, to do it all the time now, you need to be serving 220, because if you serve anything less than 220, bro, Djokovic eats you alive. He eats you alive."

Nick Kyrgios doesn't believe Boris Becker could hang in today's tennis. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Kyrgios' take may sound a bit harsh to some, but it's a fair one. Today's tennis is faster than the tennis Becker was playing in the late 80s and early 90s. Technology in the sport has changed, but so too has the physicality with players being faster, stronger and certainly serving the ball at a higher speed.

While Kyrgios' opinion is fair, so too is the reaction Becker delivered on X.

Kyrgios may have a Grand Slam doubles title and an appearance in the Wimbledon singles final, but he's still chasing that career-changing victory, and Becker was sure to remind the world about it.

This is the type of thing that Kyrgios brings to the sport of tennis. While he's been severely bitten by the injury bug of late, he never shies away from sharing his opinion, even if that opinion is a slight at a legend of the game.

He may rub you the wrong way, but Kyrgios is great for tennis. At the end of the day, athletes are entertainers and very few in pro sports entertain like he does.

Follow Mark Harris on X @itismarkharris