Nick Kyrgios said he has made “a huge mistake” after failing a doping test. The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Wednesday that the controversial Australian player has been provisionally suspended.
Kyrgios gave a sample at an ATP tournament in Mallorca in June that tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.
Writing on Instagram, Kyrgios said: “I wanted you to hear this from me first. I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine.
“I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I’m sorry to my fans, my family, my sponsors and everyone close to me. Above all, I’m sorry to the kids who follow me.
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“I know the example this sets and I’m deeply disappointed in myself.”
Cocaine is banned in competition and former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios has been provisionally suspended since August 4th.
The 31-year-old is prohibited from playing and attending tournaments pending the outcome of a tribunal that will assess his case.
His first-round loss to fellow Australian Adam Walton in Mallorca was his last competitive singles outing and one of only four singles matches he has played this season.
Kyrgios’s career has been blighted by knee and wrist problems since his run to the Wimbledon showpiece in 2022 and his ranking has slipped to 919 in the world.
He said he would not make “excuses” for the positive test but cited the toll of his physical issues.
“My body hasn’t been able to do what my mind expects it do, and coming to terms with being near the end of my career has been harder than I ever imagined,” he said.
“At times I’ve felt hopeless and alone. However, the good news is that this has given me a wake-up call.”
Kyrgios added he will take a 28-day break from social media to focus on “getting myself right”, concluding: “I’m sorry, I’ll come back better.”
Kyrgios, who last played competitively at Wimbledon earlier this summer in the men’s doubles, has earned a reputation as the ‘bad boy’ of this generation of players.
He has been fined numerous times for his behaviour on court, including swearing, breaking rackets and abuse towards officials, while in 2023 he pleaded guilty in court in Canberra to pushing over a former girlfriend.
Kyrgios, meanwhile, was hugely critical of the handling of previous high-profile doping cases involving Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, describing the pair testing positive for banned substances as “disgusting for our sport”.
Having initially been cleared of blame following two positive tests for a steroid, Sinner eventually served a three-month ban, while Swiatek was suspended for one month after an investigation concluded she had unknowingly taken contaminated medication.
Kyrgios could face a ban of up to four years but, if he can prove he took the drug out of competition, the maximum sanction he would face is three months, which could be reduced to as little as one month if he agrees to an approved treatment plan.
Britain’s Dan Evans was banned for a year for taking cocaine out of competition in 2017 but the rules changed in 2021, with the penalties reduced.
