Cocaine exposed the dark side: The fall of the 'bad boy' of world tennis
From the provocative tennis player who attacked everyone to the entanglement that shook his career. The Australian, who sharply criticized drug scandals in the tour, found himself on the other side of the fence this time. The great talent, injuries, and personal struggles combined into a new low point in his career. Now he is forced to deal with the consequences.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios is an attention junkie. There is no bottom he is not willing to tunnel into just so people will notice him. He will mock women's tennis just to make a buck in Dubai in a duel against Aryna Sabalenka, he will spit on spectators, insult opponents and referees, break rackets. You almost want to pity Kyrgios. You follow his posts. About his claim that tennis chose him and not he chose tennis. That he would have preferred a team sport, preferably basketball, and he got stuck with the loneliest sport in the world. Terminals, hotel lobbies, a foreign city. Alone, alone, alone. There are things that even 12 million dollars, his total career earnings, cannot buy.
But then you also remember that the Australian tennis player, once ranked 13th in the world and who lost in the 2022 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, a muscular and sturdy man who attacked, pushed, and threw his slender girlfriend Chiara Passari onto the sidewalk, and walked away without a criminal record only because Judge Beth Campbell understood he was in a bad psychological state and did not want to harm his career, arguing that 'it was an isolated case of a stupid act.' And you realize that Kyrgios - currently 919th in the world - is a bit of a shitty person, and that his status caused society to let him understand that he can be a piece of shit and get away with it cheaply.
You remember that just a year ago, Kyrgios was the knight who sharply attacked the conduct of tennis authorities in the prohibited substance cases of the two top-ranked players in the world, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, calling the situation 'disgusting' and 'looking terrible' for the sport of tennis, and claiming that the integrity of the system was at an unprecedented low. Kyrgios claimed discrimination and lenient treatment, and criticized the transparency of the process and the light penalties they received. You remember this because this week Kyrgios, who throughout the period he criticized the two emphasized how clean he was, was caught using cocaine and suspended.
'I had to deal with a lot of injuries, with a mental state that arises from the moment your brain wants one thing and your body is no longer capable of achieving it, and with the fact that I realized my career was nearing its end,' Kyrgios explained the prohibited use. No one was left to listen. And those who were left didn't care. A drug that doesn't win matches - but can destroy lives.
In March 2009, a urine test was conducted for French tennis player Richard Gasquet. Two months later, it was discovered that traces of cocaine were found in his blood. In July, he was already back playing. The panel of judges that heard his case accepted Gasquet's claim that the cocaine was transferred to him after a French kiss with a stripper named 'Pamela' at a nightclub in Miami. Gasquet is remembered mainly for his statement that 'no one on the tour snorts cocaine.' No white powder in the white sport? Mats Wilander and his doubles partner Karel Novacek were caught in a urine test during the 1995 Roland Garros using cocaine. They were suspended for three months, ranking points were taken from them, and they also received a fine.
In June 2007, after a loss in the third round of Wimbledon, traces of cocaine were found in Martina Hingis's blood. She appealed, the appeal was rejected, and she decided to retire from tennis even before the financial penalties and the suspension she received. At least two other less famous tennis players were caught in urine tests for cocaine use. There were many rumors about Jennifer Capriati using crack cocaine and heroin, but they had no laboratory or legal basis, and it happened before and after her peak moments in the sport. Bjorn Borg was never caught in a test while being a player, but admitted to massive use of the drug after retirement.
It is important to mention: cocaine is a dangerous and addictive drug, but it is not a drug that aids an athlete's physical and athletic abilities, and perhaps even the opposite. The effects of cocaine make it a recreational drug and not one for enhancing athletic abilities or the ability to overcome injuries. It causes euphoria, reduces negative emotions like anxiety or stress, and increases awareness and self-confidence. On the other hand, cocaine use distorts the user's judgment and decision-making ability, and the effect of the drug is short, between 15-30 minutes, after which there is a steep drop in sensation and energy.
Why is cocaine still on the list of prohibited drugs even though it does not improve athletic abilities and does not help in rehabilitation processes? Because it meets two of the three categories by which it is determined whether a certain drug is allowed or prohibited for use: it can harm the physical and mental health of the user, and exposure to its use by athletes will certainly damage the image of the sport.
When the 'bad boy' no longer knows how to get out of the role. Kyrgios, and with some justification, realized during his career that the 'bad boy' image is a kind of asset in the tour. He had a clear ceiling. He did not threaten the Big Three, and although he reached 13th place and was considered a great tennis talent, he was also not included in the second circle of the best tennis players in the world. To his credit, immediately after the dirty urine test was revealed, he took responsibility, admitted guilt, and apologized to the fans and family.
'I feel helpless and alone,' he wrote several times during his career on his Instagram account. Or: 'All tennis fans are jealous of me for my talent with the racket and my movement ability, and only I see them as a curse.' When you take all these details into account, and add to that the fact that what stopped Kyrgios's career was always the mental side, you can almost understand that the choice of cocaine for him was almost a natural choice.
Kyrgios's story is a bit reminiscent of Andre Agassi's story. In the mid-90s, Agassi, who was pushed into tennis by his ambitious father, was fed up with the sport, fed up with his marriage, and sank into deep depression. In 1997, he was caught in a urine test using crystal meth. Agassi was not suspended because he managed to convince the Tennis Association that the drug was in his blood after he drank a health drink. Later, after his career ended, Agassi admitted in his autobiography that he did indeed use the drug and that he had deceived the Association. Agassi eventually got out of the depression, he married Steffi Graf, a marriage that lasts to this day, and he won five Grand Slam titles (out of eight in total) after the affair.
Kyrgios is already 31 years old. No one expects him to win a Grand Slam or even another tournament. At most, he can carry on for another two or three more years on the tour. Alone. Helpless. Kyrgios's story is no longer a story of sport. Nick Kyrgios needs his head to clear, for all the gloomy thoughts about parting with what has been his whole life, almost his whole life, to fly away. Kyrgios admitted in the past that in 2019, on a balcony during a tournament in Mexico, suicidal thoughts crossed his mind, he drank every day and harmed himself. Nick Kyrgios needs to think now about how he saves his own life.
