Nick Kyrgios has signed the latest chapter in a story full of scandals. The Australian tennis player has been provisionally suspended this Wednesday by the International Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for cocaine in an anti-doping test that was carried out during the Mallorca Open on June 22 and for which he has been banned since August 4.
It was the athlete himself who communicated this on his social networks with an extensive statement. "I wanted them to know about me first," wrote the Australian. Although this scandal reaches extreme dimensions, Kyrgios has never been absent from controversies. Now, this episode is added as a new chapter to an already extensive book, written through scandals.
Their attitudes have always been more than questionable. One of the first times that the tennis player's character could be seen was in 2015, during the second round match of the Canadian Masters 1000. Kyrgios lost his nerve against Swiss tennis player Stan Wawrinka and decided to attack him by pointing at his partner. The microphones on the court managed to capture the comment: "Kokkinakis slept with your girlfriend, I'm sorry to tell you, buddy." The result was a $10,000 fine from the ATP.
But those are not the only thousands of euros that Kyrgios has had to shell out for his embarrassing attitudes. The next scandal came during a match against Mischa Zverev, brother of Grand Slam winner Alexander Zverev. It was at the Shanghai Masters 1000, where the Australian made it clear how little he wanted to be on the court. He started as a favorite against a Zverev who arrived from the previous round and was then ranked 110th in the world. However, if the opponent barely fights, does not run and gives you every point, the balance tips to the other side. And, in case there were any doubts that he didn't want to be there, he dispelled them: "Can you say 'Time' now, so I can finish this game and go home?" the player responded to the chair umpire after reproaching him for his attitude on the court. $16,500 was this time.
But it seems that these fines are nothing more than that, financial disbursements, because, as a lesson, they never seem to have had any effect. In 2018, during the Queens semi-finals against Novak Djokovic, the Australian simulated masturbation using a water bottle. Result? One more fine. $15,000 in this case. But, of course, they were not enough to avoid one more scandal.
Controversy after controversy, Kyrgios no longer seems capable of surprising, but the Australian always finds a way to exceed expectations, and even more so in a sport like tennis, traditionally associated with poise, correctness and elegance. Impossible to keep track of the number of rackets he has broken after losing his temper. One of them was against Rafa Nadal during Indian Wells 2022, where, after crashing his racket against the ground, he almost hit the ball boy. But he has also thrown chairs, bottles of water and countless shouts at the stands and the chair umpire. He has held surreal press conferences while eating sushi and has spat at fans when the game did not go his way.
Also curious how in 2024, the Australian publicly commented on Jannik Sinner's doping case: "It's ridiculous, whether accidental or planned. They give you two tests with a banned substance (steroids)... You should be out for two years," Nick wrote on his social networks. Now, the tables have turned and he is the one who finds himself at the center of a doping case.
On and off the track, Kyrgios has never been immune to incidents that, for some time now, have fostered a more than questionable image of him. Now, the last chapter, which, although after knowing his story, seems not surprising, once again calls into question the sportsmanship and ethics of a tennis player who has had no shortage of success, reaching number 13 in the world in 2016. He has collected seven individual titles and four finals, the last in none other than Wimbledon 2022. But what he boasts most are scandals and, sometimes, that is remembered more than the triumphs.
