Australia’s tennis ‘bad boys’ Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have been excluded from the list of six finalists for the Newcombe Medal at the Australian Tennis Awards, after both endured a controversial 2015.
The award commemorates ‘Australia’s most outstanding elite tennis player and ambassador for the sport’.
The six nominees include Kyrgios’ fellow Greek Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, along with Samantha Stosur, Casey Dellacqua, Sam Groth, Dylan Alcott and John Peers.
Earlier in the year Kyrgios received a 28-day suspended sentence along with a $35,000 fine for making a crude on-court remark to Swiss opponent Stan Wawrinka in their second-round clash at the Cincinnati Masters in August.
His compatriot Tomic found himself in hot water after going on a tirade against Tennis Australia at Wimbledon.
Their exclusions come despite the pair being Australia’s top ranked male tennis players, with Tomic ranked 18 and Kyrgios ranked 30 in the world.
Kokkinakis finds himself ranked world number 78 despite reaching a career high 64 earlier this year.