Nick Kyrgios is (sadly) one of the most well-known tennis players on the tour. He’s known for being a giant, temperamental creep and for mostly wasting his talent. Like, Kyrgios really could have been winning major titles and beating some of the biggest names in the sport. Instead, he’s a domestic abuser who spent years alienating the people who tried to help him. And now the final word on Nick’s career: he’s been suspended by the tennis integrity unit because he tested positive for cocaine.
2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has tested positive for cocaine at an ATP Tour event and has been provisionally suspended.
Kyrgios, 31, provided a sample at June’s Mallorca Championships, which was confirmed to contain a metabolite of cocaine July 17 after testing.
The suspension has been in place since August 4, and Kyrgios, 31, has not appealed it, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said Wednesday.
He lost his opening match at the Mallorca Championships to countryman Adam Walton in straight sets.
In a statement Wednesday, Kyrgios said that he “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. I know the example this sets and I’m deeply disappointed in myself.”
Other tennis stars have tested positive for cocaine in recent history. Britain’s Dan Evans, who retired from tennis earlier this summer, was banned for a year after testing positive in 2017. In 2009, France’s Richard Gasquet, a former world No. 7, tested positive and was provisionally banned for 12 months, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted his defense that he had been contaminated after kissing a woman in a nightclub.
The duration of Kyrgios’ ban will depend in part on whether he is found to have deliberately taken the drug, and in part on whether the incident happened before the tournament started.
The Australian has played just four matches in 2026, as he navigates a late career defined by persistent and serious injuries. Kyrgios underwent a full wrist reconstruction in September 2023, after suffering a full rupture of a key ligament that stabilizes the joint, and has struggled to generate any kind of momentum since. He did not play his home Grand Slam in 2026, after losing in the first round the previous year while playing through abdominal discomfort.
I remember the Dan Evans case – he admitted it, didn’t appeal, took his suspension and worked his way back into the top 100. Nick won’t do that. This is either his retirement, or he’ll try to launch a half-assed comeback when his suspension is over and the comeback will collapse in a matter of weeks. I’m also shocked that Nick is only 31 years old, I thought he was already in his mid-30s. What a waste of talent, potential and time.
PS… It’s also funny because Nick has spent years mocking players (specifically Jannik Sinner) who have tested positive for banned substances.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Nick Kyrgios (Aus) defeated Daniil Medvedev (Rus),Image: 719580295, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic/Avalon
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- Novak Djokovic (Ser) defeated Nick Kyrgios (Aus) in the men’s single final of Wimbledon 2022,Image: 706410500, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Nick Kyrgios and T. Kokkinakis (AUS) seen during their doubles match against L. Glasspool (GBR) and H. Heliovaara in advance of Kyrgios quarter final on Arthur Ashe at the 2022 US Open Tennis Championship.,Image: 719816871, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no , Credit line: Peter van den Berg/Avalon
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- Tim Henman and Nick Kyrgios (AUS) smiling during Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) first round singles match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Club, London, United Kingdom , 01 July 2024,Image: 886346086, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no , Credit line: Peter van den Berg/Avalon
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- FLUSHING NY- AUGUST 27: **NO NY NEWSPAPERS** Nick Kyrgios is seen doing an interview with Carlos Alcaraz after his match against Li Tu during the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2024 in Flushing Queens. Copyright: xmpi04x,Image: 902062385, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/mpi04/Avalon
Hahhahahahahhaha. Good riddance. He wasted so much talent and potential. Bye, now. Hopefully no one gives him commentary gigs. Boycott those outlets if they do. He is horrid.
It’s difficult to ignore the pattern when someone has burned through so many relationships in such a short period of time. NK often seems to adopt a victim mentality, something I’m very familiar with from personal experience – where there’s little reflection on how his own actions may have contributed to the problems, and responsibility is instead deflected onto other people or circumstances.
And when it comes to tennis, if your body isn’t right or your mental health is suffering, then step away and take the time you need. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing that. But ultimately, no one is forcing you to play. At some point, personal accountability has to enter the conversation too.
I’m not surprise about him testing positive for cocaine but I’m surprised that it’s just now that he’s tested positive for drugs.
I remember how they hype him up and tried to normalise his awful attitude. Yuck, no thank you.
I used to be kind of conflicted (for lack of a better word) about him. On one hand he was a very talented tennis player with tons of potential; on the other he was an arrogant, hot-headed McEnroe wanna-be who tried way too hard to be the “bad boy” of tennis, which was extremely off-putting. But the more that came out about his off-court behavior, the more it turned me off of him and I was glad to see him gone. This latest news is not the least bit surprising.
Hopefully he won’t end up in the broadcast booth again. Not interested in his opinion on anything.
This is my only concern at this point. I don’t want to see him anywhere.
I complained to the BBC when they had him on and I’ll keep complaining if they bring him back. This year I refused to watch any matches played by known abusers and I’ll extend that to include commentators.
“Shocking,” said no one. This guy has been a sub-par, highly obnoxious tool on the tennis set for years–now his followers will blame the drugs and not his defective personality.
This is unsurprising really. If you had asked me to guess which player had tested positive for coke I bet I could have come up with him in fewer than 3 guesses. What a waste of talent he is.
NK sucks but let’s not pretend testing positive for coke and PEDs are the same thing.
Kyrgios was incredibly nasty online to Sinner because Sinner was dating a former girlfriend of Krygios. Really unpleasant stuff. I won’t miss him.
He sounds deeply troubled and he clearly hasn’t dealt with the underlying personality issues driving his choices. I have honestly never seen him or read anything about him—I don’t follow tennis—but reading the assault charges, yeah, he pushed her and she fell. While he trying to leave and she was physically preventing him from doing so. That’s a little different than staying and assaulting someone in an argument, although totally appropriate to prosecute. No doubt he is a risk for any partner, it shouldn’t have happened. As for not fulfilling his potential? Sure that must suck to watch for any tennis fan, but truly that’s between him and himself, the people who work for him know who they support.