Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios suspended after positive test for cocaine
GENEVA (AP) - Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios made public 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.
GENEVA (AP) – Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios made public 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.
Article outline
- What happened
- The details
- A closer look
- The bottom line
Key points
- 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.
- Since his peak season of 2022, 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.
- 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.
- Though a lighter sanction can be projected, kyrgios faces a ban of up to four years.
Since his peak season of 2022, 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. 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 over recent years was a curious "Battle of the Sexes" win over Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai last December.
Though a lighter sanction can be projected, kyrgios faces a ban of up to four years. Cocaine is banned as a doping substance during competitions, with lower sanctions applied when applied away from events.
In short, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios suspended after positive test for cocaine is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.
