WATCH: Sinner faces bizarre Kyrgios vs North Korean dictator question on official AO show

Jannik Sinner just faced probably the most bizarre question of his entire tennis career during the 2026 Australian Open.

Tennis players, athletes, and celebrities in general are accustomed to facing numerous questions throughout their careers. Depending on the setting, the nature of the question can differ. For example, the questions asked on official channels, during on-court interviews, and at press conferences are usually quite professional, while those asked in social media appearances can be quite creative.

Sinner started his 2026 Australian Open campaign with a quick win over Hugo Gaston, who retired after two sets, which the Italian player won 6-2, 6-1. The ATP world No. 2, therefore, had some extra time, which he spent by joining the official Australian Open show.

The four-time major winner appeared on the "Pod Laver Arena" podcast, in which he went through multiple different segments, facing many different questions. One of those was related to his ATP colleague Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios has been one of the loudest Sinner's critics in relation to the Italian's doping case. He openly questions Sinner's explanation of how he got contaminated, and the Australian didn't often mince words when talking about Sinner.

That's probably why the presenters on the "Pod Laver Arena" podcast thought it would be funny to ask Sinner, as part of the "Would you Rafter?" segment, whether he would prefer to play doubles with Kyrgios or North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Sinner was probably shocked to hear the question, especially on the official Australian Open show. It also put him in an awkward position, as he probably also wanted to avoid saying anything controversial in relation to Kim Jong Un.

The Italian player handled the answer as a professional, saying he would choose Kyrgios as a doubles partner, because he doesn't want to lose the match, and the Australian is obviously the more skilled on the tennis court out of the two options.

However, the damage has been done already. The tennis community all over social media voiced their disapproval with the question asked, even though the two-time Australian Open champion avoided any huge controversy with his answer.

The presenters on the "Pod Laver Arena" podcast will likely hear about the controversy and think twice before asking similar questions in the upcoming shows. It might become challenging to secure any players to appear on the show if they have to face similarly uncomfortable and bizarre questions.