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Tennis stars, Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios recently were seen together during the 2024 US Open’s ‘Mixed Madness’ event in New York. The tennis players teamed up for an exhibition match ahead of the US Open and were seen paying a special tribute to late basketball legend, Kobe Bryant. Both were seen wearing Lakers jerseys in the exhibition match against the doubles pair of Paula Badosa and Stephanos Tsitsipas.
Notably, this match also saw the Aussie, Kyrgios return to the court after a long time. Since January 2023, Nick Kyrgios hasn't played competitive tennis. Talking about the Mixed Madness event, four teams of two players each played against each other. While Osaka paired with Kyrgios, Badosa paired with Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz paired with Amanda Anisimova, and Coco Gauff paired with Ben Shelton.
Watch Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios honour late Kobe Bryant:
The event was played in the one-set knockout format with the semi-final clash setup between the Osaka-Kyrgios duo and Fritz-Anisimova pair. Notably, the American pair of Fritz and Anisimova defeated Osaka and Kyrgios 6-2 to setup a clash against Tsitsipas-Badosa pair, who eventually won the Mixed Madness title.
Why did Nick Kyrgios wear Kobe Bryant’s jersey? Tennis star reveals his side of story
The 29-year-old tennis player, Nick Kyrgios, who is a huge basketball fan, in an old video on his Instagram had revealed that he looked up to the late legend, who passed away in a tragic accident in 2020. He also expressed his disappointment, recalling how he wore the Kobe Bryant jersey at the Australian Open that year.
"I wore his shirt the day he died at the Australian Open and cried during that day. I watch basketball every day and it is an important part of my life. I can never imitate what Kobe did, but there maybe times in my life when I try," an emotional Kyrgios said in the video.
Not only Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka has time and again spoken of Kobe Bryant’s influence on her career. She even spoke of the same in her Netflix documentary and referred to him as “a brother or an uncle” she looked up to for advice.
