Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios entered the Australian Open men’s doubles draw as a wildcard with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. After each man made an early exit in the singles tournament, the pair applied themselves to the double draw and surprised everyone with an unprecedented run all the way to the championship.
Now, the NFT trading website sweet.io has released a super-limited set of Nick Kyrgios NFTs available for tennis fans and sports collectors alike. As of February 1, the NFTs offer the opportunity to experience and to own a personal piece of the incredible doubles victory with the launch of six super-limited NFTs. Each non-fungible token is available for $399 and grants buyers one of 22 exclusive clips of Kyrgios at the 2022 Australian Open.
“I’m all about the fans and the fan experience so this feels like another great way to connect. NFTs are the future of collectibles and I always want to be on the cutting edge and to advance our sport,” Kyrgios said on the release of the King 1 NFTs.
For those fans unable to shell out $399 for an NFT, there are 2,022 “King Collection” NFTs available for $20.22 each. And for fans who want the elite experience, a rare, hyper diamond NFT is on sale, capturing the moment that Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the Grand Slam, but it doesn’t come cheap. It’s $9,999 to own the title moment.
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Each clip highlights Kyrgios’ often excited, always brash, and sometimes controversial emotions on the court. One of the more emotional players on the men’s tour, Kyrgios’ career has been a steady roller coaster — always interesting, but never quite coming out on top.
At the 2021 Australian Open, for example, Kyrgios was rolling, up two sets to love in the third round against Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem, but fell apart, losing the next three sets in a row. Injuries have also plagued the ultra-talented player, thwarting his ascent just as it seemed Kyrgios would get over the hump. In the third round of the 2021 Wimbledon tennis tournament against Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, with the match tied at one set each, Kyrgios was forced to retire after the second set due to an abdominal injury.
Doubles could be the route that fate was steering the Australian tennis star toward after all. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis became national heroes when they won each of their first doubles Grand Slams in straight sets. On the way, the pair became the first wildcard pairing to ever win the Australian Open men’s doubles title and the first all-Aussie Australian Open men’s champions since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde kept the title in the Outback in 1997. As a result, Kyrgios moved into the top 40 in the doubles rankings for the first time.
It should not surprise tennis fans that Kyrgios is one of the first pros to jump into the NFT pool as the man has never shied away from creating a scene, hot or not.
“It’s been an amazing tournament full of memorable moments,” Kyrgios said.
Now you can have your own part of those moments at sweet.io/nickkyrgios.
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