GENEVA (AP) — Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios revealed on Wednesday he tested positive for cocaine, and cited the doping case as a wake up call after feeling “helpless and alone” as injuries derailed his career.
The 31-year-old Australian with a checkered disciplinary record was provisionally suspended after playing just 10 singles matches on the ATP tour, winning only two, since his peak season of 2022. Then, he reached the final at the grass-court Grand Slam and lost to Novak Djokovic.
Kyrgios is now ranked 919th. He tested positive in June for the party drug during a lower-tier grass court event in Spain.
“I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine,” he wrote on his Instagram account. “I made a huge mistake and take full responsibility for it.”
It is the latest negative headline in the career of a talented though fiery personality, whose highest profile action on court in recent years was a curious “Battle of the Sexes” win over Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai last December.
Kyrgios faces a ban of up to four years, though a lighter sanction can be expected. Cocaine is banned as a doping substance during competitions, with lower sanctions applied when used away from events.
In a similar case in 2017, British player Dan Evans served a one-year ban imposed by the International Tennis Federation for testing positive for cocaine at the Barcelona Open.
Struggling with injuries
Kyrgios said he had difficulties coming to terms with being near the end of his career after two years of injuries.
“At times I’ve felt helpless and alone. None of that excuses what I did,” he said. He added the injuries “have taken a huge toll on me, both physically and mentally. My body hasn’t been able to do what my mind expects it to do.”
Kyrgios has a 1-3 record in singles this year and got a wild card to play doubles at Wimbledon last month. He lost in the first round with partner Alexander Bublik.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency will prosecute the case and said the player’s sample was taken on June 22 and the positive test was confirmed on July 17, after Kyrgios played at Wimbledon.
A mandatory provisional suspension was applied on Aug. 4 and has not been appealed by Kyrgios, the ITIA added.
Kyrgios sees a way back
“However, the good news is that this has given me a wake up call,” Kyrgios wrote, signaling his career is not over.
“For the next 28 days I’ll be stepping away from social media and public life while I focus on getting myself right.”
Career decline since 2022
The most recent of Kyrgios’ seven career singles titles was won in his first tournament after the Wimbledon final. He beat Yoshihito Nishioka in the final of the hard-court event in Washington, D.C., in August 2022.
Weeks later he reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals, losing to Karen Khachanov.
After a knee injury in Tokyo in October 2022, Kyrgios played just once in the next two years, citing a wrist injury to miss Wimbledon in 2023.
Kyrgios had a meager 1-4 record in the 2025 season, losing a first-round match in the Australian Open then skipping the next three Grand Slams.
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