Stefanos Tsitsipas has said comments he made about Nick Kyrgios at last year’s Wimbledon have been “misinterpreted”, after his remarks were featured on Netflix documentary “Break Point” and perceived as racist on social media.

Tsitsipas, 24, was knocked out by Kyrgios in a bad-tempered third-round clash at the grass-court grand slam and described the Australian’s approach to tennis as “uneducated”, saying he brought “that NBA basketball attitude” to the sport.

The Greek world No 5 said there had been an “unfortunate misunderstanding that has a distorted picture of my intentions” in a lengthy statement posted to his Facebook page on Saturday.

“It has come to my attention that some individuals have misinterpreted my comments regarding Nick Kyrgios ... insinuating racism where none exists,” Tsitsipas wrote. “I want to emphasize that I harbour no prejudice towards anyone based on their background, ethnicity, or interests. I deeply regret if my words were misinterpreted or caused offence, as that was never my intention.”

Tsitsipas added his remarks were not meant to undermine Kyrgios’ ability or intelligence. “I simply intended to express my perspective on certain aspects of his playing style, drawing comparisons to the passion and intensity often associated with basketball,” he said. “It was an attempt to highlight the dynamic and captivating nature of his approach to the game, not a criticism of his character or capabilities.

“Moving forward, I commit to being more mindful of my words and the impact they may have,” Tsitsipas concluded.

Kyrgios acknowledged the statement on Saturday and played down any lingering feud between the pair. “It was a very heated battle,” the Australian wrote on Twitter. “Sometimes as players we go into these press conferences without digesting the match … We’ve had some crazy battles and I know deep down you like my brand of tennis. We are all good.”

The 28-year-old Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final last year, saw off Tsitsipas in four sets in a match that often threatened to spiral out of control. Kyrgios was warned for swearing and had a running dialogue with the umpire, while Tsitsipas lost his composure and tried to hit his opponent with a smash after coming close to being defaulted for hitting a ball in frustration into the crowd.

skip past newsletter promotionSign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion

The feud continued off-court, with Tsitsipas labelling Kyrgios a “bully” with “an evil side” in a post-match media conference. Kyrgios laughed off Tsitsipas’s remarks and said the Greek had “serious issues”.