Australian star Bernard Tomic admits he is playing tennis just for the money and says he has no love for a game that has earned him millions.

In a frank Australian television interview, the 24-year-old told his fans to stay at home rather than paying to watch him play if they were opposed to his polarising on-court antics. &quot;Don&#39;t come,&quot; Tomic said late Sunday. &quot;Just watch on TV, you don&#39;t have to pay anything.&quot;&nbsp;

Tomic, who was slugged with a US$15,000 fine after he claimed he was &quot;bored&quot; during his lacklustre first round defeat at Wimbledon last month, said he oscillates between full commitment and apathy on court.

&quot;Throughout my career I&#39;ve given 100 per cent. I&#39;ve given also 30 per cent. But if you balance it out, I think all my career&#39;s been around 50 per cent,&quot; Tomic, who has slid down the rankings to 73 from a career-high 17, said in the interview.&nbsp;

&quot;I haven&#39;t really tried, and (still) achieved all this. So it&#39;s just amazing what I&#39;ve done.&quot;

Asked to provide advice to aspiring tennis players he was blunt.&nbsp;&quot;Don&#39;t play tennis. Do something you love and enjoy, because it&#39;s a grind, and it&#39;s a tough, tough, tough life. My position, I&#39;m trapped. I have to do it,&quot; he said.

&quot;Tennis chose me. It&#39;s something I never fell in love with. You know, I like it.&quot;

Tomic also stood by his comments after being controversially eliminated at Wimbledon by German Mischa Zverev.

&quot;I don&#39;t regret what I said. That&#39;s why I said it -- to piss a few people off,&quot; he said.

&quot;I didn&#39;t come from a rich family. We had no money.

&quot;And now living in all these lavish houses and property around the world, it&#39;s my choice. It&#39;s something that I&#39;ve worked for.&quot;

Tomic was axed by his racquet sponsor just hours after his Wimbledon fine, deeming his behaviour unacceptable.

Tomic said he 'didn't come from a rich family' and he's working in tennis to make a living

Australian star Bernard Tomic admits he is playing tennis just for the money and says he has no love for a game that has earned him millions. In a frank Australian television interview, the 24-year-old told his fans to stay at home rather than paying to watch him play if they were opposed to his polarising on-court antics. "Don't come," Tomic said late Sunday. "Just watch on TV, you don't have to pay anything." Tomic, who was slugged with a US$15,000 fine after he claimed he was "bored" during his lacklustre first round defeat at Wimbledon last month, said he oscillates between full commitment and apathy on court. "Throughout my career I've given 100 per cent. I've given also 30 per cent. But if you balance it out, I think all my career's been around 50 per cent," Tomic, who has slid down the rankings to 73 from a career-high 17, said in the interview. "I haven't really tried, and (still) achieved all this. So it's just amazing what I've done." Asked to provide advice to aspiring tennis players he was blunt. "Don't play tennis. Do something you love and enjoy, because it's a grind, and it's a tough, tough, tough life. My position, I'm trapped. I have to do it," he said. "Tennis chose me. It's something I never fell in love with. You know, I like it." Tomic also stood by his comments after being controversially eliminated at Wimbledon by German Mischa Zverev. "I don't regret what I said. That's why I said it -- to piss a few people off," he said. "I didn't come from a rich family. We had no money. "And now living in all these lavish houses and property around the world, it's my choice. It's something that I've worked for." Tomic was axed by his racquet sponsor just hours after his Wimbledon fine, deeming his behaviour unacceptable.

Tomic says he has no love for tennis

Australia&#39;s former great hope Bernard Tomic admitted he was &quot;bored&quot; during a listless first-round defeat by Germany&#39;s Mischa Zverev at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The former world number 17 lost 6-3 6-4 6-3 in only 84 minutes and headed out of the All England Club with his first-round losers&#39; cheque of 35,000 pounds ($45,241).

&quot;It was definitely a mental issue out there. Wasn&#39;t mentally and physically there to perform. I don&#39;t know why, but, you know, I felt a little bit bored out there to be completely honest with you,&quot; the 24-year-old told reporters.

&quot;I tried at the end and stuff, he managed to win that set 6-3 or 6-4, but it was too late.&quot;

Tomic, whose career has stagnated since being touted as Australia&#39;s next grand slam winning hope, entered into a bizarre exchange with a reporter after being asked whether he would consider handing back his prize money.

&quot;Which money?&quot; he said. &quot;Well, if you ask (Roger) Federer to give back $500 million, would he do that or not?&quot;

Reminded that he had said he was bored, Tomic continued: &quot;We all work for money. At 34, maybe I can donate to charity. If you ask Roger if he&#39;ll do it, I&#39;ll do it.&quot;

It is not the first time Tomic&#39;s attitude has been called into question. In 2012 he was suspended from Australia&#39;s Davis Cup team with Tennis Australia citing his poor attitude. In 2014 he was booed on Rod Laver Arena after quitting with an injury against Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open.

His off-court behaviour has also landed him in trouble.&nbsp;In 2015 he was arrested in Miami on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest after a late-night party.

Tomic, who reached the Wimbledon fourth round last year, faces a further drop in the rankings from his current position of 59th. He said a lack of motivation was the problem.

&quot;It&#39;s a roller coaster, and I just can&#39;t seem to find the commitment to work hard, to enjoy, and to lift trophies,&quot; he said. &quot;Maybe I have to look at a few things, maybe play less tournaments. The last two years, nothing motivates.&quot;

One person on Twitter was so upset about Tomic&#39;s defeat on Tuesday he called on him to be deported from Australia.

&quot;That&#39;s his opinion. I&#39;m sure he&#39;s on the computer somewhere making $50 an hour,&quot; Tomic said. &quot;I&#39;m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won&#39;t have to work again.&quot;

($1 = 0.7736 pounds)

The 24-year-old got into a bizarre exchange after reporters asked if he'd give the $45,000 prize money back

Australia's former great hope Bernard Tomic admitted he was "bored" during a listless first-round defeat by Germany's Mischa Zverev at Wimbledon on Tuesday. The former world number 17 lost 6-3 6-4 6-3 in only 84 minutes and headed out of the All England Club with his first-round losers' cheque of 35,000 pounds ($45,241). "It was definitely a mental issue out there. Wasn't mentally and physically there to perform. I don't know why, but, you know, I felt a little bit bored out there to be completely honest with you," the 24-year-old told reporters. "I tried at the end and stuff, he managed to win that set 6-3 or 6-4, but it was too late." Tomic, whose career has stagnated since being touted as Australia's next grand slam winning hope, entered into a bizarre exchange with a reporter after being asked whether he would consider handing back his prize money. "Which money?" he said. "Well, if you ask (Roger) Federer to give back $500 million, would he do that or not?" Reminded that he had said he was bored, Tomic continued: "We all work for money. At 34, maybe I can donate to charity. If you ask Roger if he'll do it, I'll do it." It is not the first time Tomic's attitude has been called into question. In 2012 he was suspended from Australia's Davis Cup team with Tennis Australia citing his poor attitude. In 2014 he was booed on Rod Laver Arena after quitting with an injury against Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open. His off-court behaviour has also landed him in trouble. In 2015 he was arrested in Miami on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest after a late-night party. Tomic, who reached the Wimbledon fourth round last year, faces a further drop in the rankings from his current position of 59th. He said a lack of motivation was the problem. "It's a roller coaster, and I just can't seem to find the commitment to work hard, to enjoy, and to lift trophies," he said. "Maybe I have to look at a few things, maybe play less tournaments. The last two years, nothing motivates." One person on Twitter was so upset about Tomic's defeat on Tuesday he called on him to be deported from Australia. "That's his opinion. I'm sure he's on the computer somewhere making $50 an hour," Tomic said. "I'm going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won't have to work again." ($1 = 0.7736 pounds)

Wimbledon: 'I was bored,' Tomic says after losing first-round match in only 84 minutes

Controversial Australian Bernard Tomic was ordered to apologise today after he used the word &quot;retard&quot; in a Wimbledon press conference. 
 
Tomic&#39;s comments were branded as &quot;damaging and offensive&quot; by a learning disability charity as the world number 19 once again found himself in trouble. 
 
The Australian made the comments after being asked how he felt being made to wait for his first round opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court for a match on Wednesday. 
 
&quot;I think he was up in the locker getting something taped. When I left, I thought he was leaving, so I just happened to walk out,&quot; said the 23-year-old. 
 
&quot;I did get to the court prior to him very early, and unfortunately I had to stand on court like a retard.&quot; 
 
The learning disability charity Mencap asked Tomic to say sorry. 
 
&quot;I&#39;d like the player to apologise and would encourage him to meet people with a learning disability so he can understand why the word is so damaging and offensive,&quot; Ciara Lawrence, who has a learning disability and is a campaigns support officer at Mencap, told the Press Association. 
 
&quot;Time and time again I hear this word used as if it has no effect. People clearly don&#39;t understand how upsetting and offensive this is to people with a learning disability like me. 
 
&quot;I am sick and tired of people in high-profile positions who are respected by the public using this word. It can make the public and people who look up to sports stars think it is okay to use words like this when it&#39;s not. 
 
&quot;It makes people with a learning disability seen not as people but as second-class citizens, and is no different to discriminating against someone who is gay or black.&quot; 
 
Tomic has been plagued by off-court controversies during his career. 
 
Most recently, he made headlines in Madrid when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point against Fabio Fognini. 
 
Tomic later told his post-match news conference: &quot;I don&#39;t care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?&quot; 
 
In July last year, he was arrested in Miami after a wild party in a hotel penthouse suite. 
 
He was dropped from the Davis Cup team and has since opted out of the Olympics. 
 
(AFP)

The player made the offensive comment on being asked how he felt about waiting for his opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court

Controversial Australian Bernard Tomic was ordered to apologise today after he used the word "retard" in a Wimbledon press conference. Tomic's comments were branded as "damaging and offensive" by a learning disability charity as the world number 19 once again found himself in trouble. The Australian made the comments after being asked how he felt being made to wait for his first round opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court for a match on Wednesday. "I think he was up in the locker getting something taped. When I left, I thought he was leaving, so I just happened to walk out," said the 23-year-old. "I did get to the court prior to him very early, and unfortunately I had to stand on court like a retard." The learning disability charity Mencap asked Tomic to say sorry. "I'd like the player to apologise and would encourage him to meet people with a learning disability so he can understand why the word is so damaging and offensive," Ciara Lawrence, who has a learning disability and is a campaigns support officer at Mencap, told the Press Association. "Time and time again I hear this word used as if it has no effect. People clearly don't understand how upsetting and offensive this is to people with a learning disability like me. "I am sick and tired of people in high-profile positions who are respected by the public using this word. It can make the public and people who look up to sports stars think it is okay to use words like this when it's not. "It makes people with a learning disability seen not as people but as second-class citizens, and is no different to discriminating against someone who is gay or black." Tomic has been plagued by off-court controversies during his career. Most recently, he made headlines in Madrid when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point against Fabio Fognini. Tomic later told his post-match news conference: "I don't care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?" In July last year, he was arrested in Miami after a wild party in a hotel penthouse suite. He was dropped from the Davis Cup team and has since opted out of the Olympics. (AFP)

Tomic told to apologise for 'retard' comment

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