Tennis has seen its fair share of rising stars who never quite fulfilled the promise they once showed. Bernard Tomic is one of them. Touted early as a future Grand Slam contender, he reached the Top 20, beat some of the best players in the world, and made deep runs in major tournaments. But as fast as his star rose, it dimmed, overshadowed by a string of controversies, including clashes with some stars, such as Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt.
Tomic grew up on the Gold Coast after his parents, John and Addy, moved from Germany when he was three. He picked up a racket by the age of seven and was winning junior Grand Slams as a teenager, claiming the 2008 Australian Open and 2009 US Open.
By 16, he had quit school and turned professional. His highlights include reaching a career-high ATP ranking of No. 17, a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon in 2011, and titles in Sydney, Colombia, and Chengdu. He was also a finalist at the 2016 Mexican Open and made quarterfinal appearances in major Masters 1000 events like Indian Wells and Shanghai.
Tomic won the 2009 US Open juniors title (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Despite his success, Tomic admitted that he didn’t always liked tennis. “Tennis chose me. I never chose tennis,” he told Channel 7 in 2023. “And I came to enjoy it at a young age. I never fell in love with it. I like it. It’s kind of like saying, ‘I like a girl, I don’t love her, but I like her.’ That’s how tennis has always been in my life.”
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A complicated relationship with his father
Much of Tomic’s early tennis life was shaped by his father and coach, John Tomic. “He was always urging me to play tennis,” Bernard said in an interview with 7 News in 2023. When asked if his father had been physically abusive, Tomic clarified, “No, not brutal. But he was tough. Sometimes, when I mouthed off, he’d grab a ball and throw it at me.”
In 2013, John Tomic was sentenced to eight months in prison in Spain and banned from the ATP Tour for a year after headbutting Bernard’s hitting partner, Thomas Drouet, and breaking his nose.
Tomic and his father John during the 2018 Australian Open (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
“I have a lot of pain in my neck and nose,” Drouet told reporters at the time. Tomic later said, “In a way I was [embarrassed], and I wasn’t. My dad told me the guy spat in his face, and he knocked him out. Honestly, I would’ve done the same.”
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Controversies and on-court struggles
Tomic’s tennis career became increasingly defined by moments of indifference and headline-grabbing behavior. In several occasions, he was accused of losing matches on purpose, including at the 2012 US Open. In 2019 Wimbledon, he lost in only 58 minutes to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, as and was fined the full prize money ($50,000) for failing to meet the “required professional standard.”
Asked about this instance, Tomic told 7 news that it was nerves. “I’d never been on Centre Court. It’s one of the biggest stages, 23,000 people. I was nervous. There were actors like Nicole Kidman in the crowd. I got confused,” he said. “I forget the score. I forget who I’m playing. I think about other things, even while I’m on court,” he added.
Bernard Tomic in 2016 (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
His off-court record drew just as much scrutiny. He was pulled over multiple times for speeding and once lost his license while driving a bright orange BMW. In July 2015, he was arrested in Miami and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, though charges were later dropped. “I was a bit disappointed. I think it was part of a team effort to get me,” he said about these incidents, and the media scrutiny around them.
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Criticizing Federer and Hewitt, praising Nadal
Former pros and national figures grew frustrated with his attitude. Pat Rafter, who oversaw Davis Cup selections, said, “Leaving him out was to teach him a lesson. Australians won’t accept continual bad behavior.” Tomic admitted he wasn’t sure he belonged on the team. “Maybe it’s not a good idea to pick me. You don’t know which Bernard will show up.”
Tomic’s behavior drew criticism from several tennis legends, including Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt. In 2016, Federer told ESPN, “He’s been struggling to show [his talent], to be quite honest… top 10 is the goal, and he’s missed out on it by a long shot.” Tomic fired back: “I think he’s also far away from [Novak] Djokovic… I also believe my prediction that he’s nowhere near Novak’s tennis right now.”
Later, Tomic expressed frustration that Federer didn’t acknowledge his rise from No. 80 to No. 16. “I just felt like maybe Roger said the wrong thing. I’m working. It’s an amazing achievement,” he said.
Tomic returned to the Australian Open in 2025 (Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
With Lleyton Hewitt, the tensions were long-standing, especially regarding Davis Cup selections. In 2019, their feud was public, with Tomic claiming that “nobody likes him” and that he left out many players, such as Nick Kyrgios. However, Hewitt responded that they wouldn’t be part of the team as long as he was captain.
However, he didn’t hate all the stars. He has spoken with genuine respect about Rafael Nadal. “He was really good. He was a great guy, great champion. Nobody ever will do what he did, winning this many Grand Slams on clay. He was a good person off the court… I really respect him for this,” he told Punto de Break in 2025.
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Enjoying tennis out of the spotlight
Now 32, Tomic is attempting a quieter return to tennis. Playing primarily on the Challenger Tour, he qualified for the Australian Open main draw in 2025 after a three-year absence. “I’m back kind of, so let’s see how I’m gonna go in this,” he said.
Ranked 237 in the world, he’s aiming for the French Open and Wimbledon. More grounded and introspective, he seems more at peace with who he is and what tennis has meant to him.
“I don’t know. I mean, I had a little bit of a different story, different way of playing tennis, different everything,” he told Punto de Break. For now, that story continues — if still a complicated one.
