Nick Kyrgios in the Cincinnati Masters. Aug 14, 2018; Mason, OH, USA; Nick Kyrgios (AUS) returns a shot against Dennis Kudla (USA) in the Western and Southern tennis open at Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Showing up to play in a sporting event without the proper footwear is a relatively common occurrence at the recreational level, but it’s a little more rare to see that happen to a professional athlete. That’s what happened with Australian pro tennis player Nick Kyrgios at the Cincinnati Masters Tuesday, though. Kyrgios came out onto the court in basketball shoes as he usually does, and then opened his bag to change into his tennis shoes, but realized his tennis shoes weren’t in there:

After Kyrgios walked around the court in his socks and apologized to his opponent (unseeded American qualifier Denis Kudla), though, he did wind up with his tennis shoes; a tournament aide was able to retrieve those from the locker room. And while the 15th-seeded Kyrgios was perhaps a little flummoxed by that early on, dropping the first set of his match, he rebounded to win 6-7 (7-2) 7-5 7-6 (9-7), notching 39 aces along the way. He’ll now advance to the round of 32 and face Borna Coric of Croatia Wednesday. Hopefully Kyrgios will remember his shoes this time. (But hey, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a sudden wardrobe change from him.)

[For The Win]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.