Australia's Olympic team chief, Kitty Chiller, has described the latest instalments in Nick Kyrgios' chequered life and times as "sad".
She has put responsibility squarely on Tennis Australia to ensure that future home-grown talents don't land in such a "wrong" place.
Kyrgios was heavily criticised again for his fourth-round, straight-sets capitulation on Tuesday to Andy Murray. After the defeat, Kyrgios admitted: "I think when things get tough, I'm just a little bit soft". He labelled two of his three sets against Murray as "pretty pathetic" and said of his tennis career generally: "I don't love the sport. But, you know, I don't really know what else to do without it." 
The 21-year-old then generated needless international headlines by retaliating to the Twitter commentary of British personality Piers Morgan who branded Kyrgios an "embarrassing-to-watch" sulk who should "put your toys back in your pram and go home". Morgan's comments were endorsed publicly by cricket legend Shane Warne before Kyrgios took to Twitter himself and suggested Morgan "EAD" (short for eat a dick).
Chiller, who earlier this year issued Kyrgios with a 16-page letter asking him to explain a pattern of poor behaviour she said did not meet Olympic standard, revisited the topic of a rogue top Australian athlete at the announcement in Melbourne, on Wednesday, of Australia's Olympic team captain, Anna Meares.
Chiller told Fairfax Media: "Above all else, one comment that he said [after the Wimbledon defeat] I just thought was very sad. And that's: 'I don't like tennis but what else would I do?' or something to that effect.
"I think that's very sad for him and I think Tennis Australia really needs to step up now and ensure that the system, the culture within their system and the kids coming through their system don't end up like that because it's wrong and it's sad. My first reaction is of sadness for him."
In the aftermath of the world No.18's inglorious Wimbledon exit, Chiller has told Fairfax Media she feels vindicated in the hardline position she took on Kyrgios before he made himself unavailable for selection for the Rio Olympics.
Kyrgios was clearly going to struggle to get the nod for the Australian team given Chiller's earlier decision to query his behaviour. Strong public jousting between the pair ensued.
Unafraid, in the recent past, to call Kyrgios' actions as she has seen them, Chiller said what she has observed in recent days only reinforced her position.
"I stand by the things that I said earlier and the stance that we're taking in terms of what we expect from our Olympians, that hasn't changed," she said.
"It did affirm the position but balanced with that is it's sad ... you don't want to hear any athlete, or any young kid, in that frame of mind. It's sad but that's why I think the national federation needs to take responsibility to make sure that for people coming through that system that there's a culture within that system that doesn't lead to another athlete being in that same place."
Asked what she would do if she were a Tennis Australia boss, Chiller, who publicly warned Kyrgios in   May that his unsporting behaviour would not be tolerated in Rio and also criticised Bernard Tomic, would not comment.
"I'll leave that to Steve [Tennis Australia board president, Stephen Healy], and Craig [TA CEO, Craig Tiley]," she said.
"I've got the Olympic team to worry about right now without running Tennis Australia."