A week before the Championships begin at Wimbledon, Nick Kyrgios is warming up in front of an audience without the whites. The Australian isn’t playing on the green grass of the All England Club. He’s swatting a few signed tennis balls into the crowd at New Wimbledon Theatre and settling some old scores instead. This was the first live version of his popular Good Trouble podcast.

Kyrgios pulled out of Wimbledon earlier in June after yet another injury setback and has hardly played any tennis in the last couple of years. He hasn’t been quiet on content off the court though, teaming up with Naomi Osaka’s media company, Hana Kuma - ‘the next generation content platform’ - to launch the Good Trouble series in January 2024.

Osaka and Kyrgios are teaming up at the U.S. Open mixed doubles in August and that was just one of the subjects that were discussed on this opening night of the global tour that also takes in New York’s Beacon Theatre and the big cities in Australia. “What other sport can bring your favorite male sportsman together with your favorite female athlete?" the 30-year-old proclaimed. Despite protestations from established mixed doubles stars, the eye candy and entertainment value at the standalone event is moving the dial.

Kyrgios was a nervous starter at Wimbledon and he followed suit here just a couple of miles away from the famous AELTC lawns, emboldened by “four vodkas”. His guest host was the slick Scottish broadcaster Gordon Smart who had clearly mixed with the Kyrgios clan beforehand to get clearance for some of the awkward content. Doing things with a self-made set of rules was the whole point. Getting Kyrgios to spill the spicy beans was a slightly harder nut to crack.

He’s played only a handful of recent matches, but Kyrgios was within a couple of sets of winning Wimbledon before finally succumbing to Novak Djokovic. “I wish I had won Wimbledon because I would never have had to play tennis again. It kind of sucks. I think about what might have been every day. I didn’t sleep for two days before the final whereas Novak had played 30 Slam finals. I didn’t play the big points as well as I could have,” he admitted.

The unlikely bromance following that Wimbledon final finally put to bed the bad feeling that Kyrgios had harboured about the Serb. He also opened up about the gap that exists between them on the professional stage. “Novak is different. He’s a generational athlete. I’m not like that.” As if to prove the point, some members of the audience were invited up for a shot of the non-sporting kind with the star of the show.

Since Oaska spoke up about her mental health, Kyrgios has been encouraged to do the same as he fields messages from all walks of life on how he deals with the fallout of the minefield of the human mind. “I’m relatable,” he says and maybe that counts for something more precious than the trophies.

He was never going to give eight or nine months of the year to pursue tennis so relentlessly around the world. His family, dogs and friends are the hangout. One Grand Slam would have got the naysayers off his back. That’s the former world No. 13’s one big tennis regret writ large. A doubles Slam at the Australian Open isn’t quite the same although Kyrgios is proud of his professionalism during that momentous win on home soil. “Professional” isn’t what this crowd came for though.

The show had a lull in the second set after the interval, missing that big guest vibe usually brought by a McEnroe or a Mike Tyson. It did feature Kyrgios’s convivial manager Daniel Horsfall aka 'Horse’, who touched on his childhood hangouts with his “elite sportsman” friend without ever really relaying the heights of mischief. After all, Horsfall’s job is to look after his best mate rather than stitch him up on stage.

The laugh of the night was, unsurprisingly, pulled from a video clip of misdemeanours. Kyrgios chucked his water bottle at the umpire’s chair during the 2019 Washington Open, claiming it “slipped out of my hand.” That audience connection was an insight into how this format’s strengths and weaknesses could work. A deadpan Kyrgios is simultaneously hilarious and exposed without the direct banter of a match play crowd.

Another sparkler to that firework moment was when he recalled playing Rafa Nadal in the breakthrough 2014 fourth-round Wimbledon win. “When I served, I could see that Rafa didn’t know which way it was going. I thought ‘This guy isn’t even that good’ “

Kyrgios wasn’t willing to give away too much trash talk on the night. He doesn’t like Fernando Verdasco or the recently retired umpire Carlos Bernardes. “He took himself way too seriously,” said the Canberra star.

Six years ago, he was seen preparing for a match against Nadal at the Wimbledon Village Dog and Fox pub. Kyrgios recounted the time that he knocked over the Spaniard’s water bottles which were always carefully lined up. Neither tactic worked there, but Kyrgios clearly relishes having overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas in a feisty encounter during his 2022 Wimbledon campaign. "How can you bully someone in a non-contact sport?" he salivates after the Greek complained of bad practice.

Tennis had 20 years of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray and they didn’t plan the succession very well. Kyrgios respects Alcaraz and Sinner and has a lot of time for the likes of Joao Fonseca. However, he has not been invited back to the BBC broadcasting box to commentate on them. “I hate it when everyone in the comms box agrees with each other. Tennis is changing so the commentators need changing too. I see it as their loss rather than mine.”

Kyrgios served a few aces at New Wimbledon Theatre, but didn’t quite stir enough to cause major five-set drama over the 90 minute stage version. He will probably be more match sharp for the New York date with some format tweaks . He may even play some tennis at Flushing Meadows the day after with Osaka.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray is waiting to serve his stories on the eve of Wimbledon at the same venue. Tennis is definitely in town.