Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has revealed that in 2019 he spent some time in a psychiatric hospital after suffering from suicidal thoughts.
The former top 20 player has opened up about his mental health battle in an upcoming episode for Netflix’s Break Point series which will be available for public viewing this month. Speaking candidly about his struggles, Kyrgios said he sought professional help following his loss to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. At the time he admits to ‘drinking and abusing drugs’ as well as having trouble with his personal relationships.
Kyrgios was also self-harming and says the reason why he has an arm sleeve now is to cover up the scars.
“That pressure, having all eyes on you, the expectation, I couldn’t deal with it,” he said. “I hated the kind of person I was. I was drinking, abusing drugs, lost my relationship with my family, pushed all my close friends away. You could tell I was hurting. My whole arm was covered in scars — that’s why I actually got my arm sleeve to cover it all. I was genuinely contemplating if I wanted to commit suicide.”
“I lost at Wimbledon, I woke up and my dad was just sitting next to me on the bed and he was like full-blown crying. That was a bit wake-up call for me. I was like, okay, I cannot keep doing this. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.”
The 28-year-old has spoken about his mental health in the past. In 2020 Kyrgios said he experienced moments where he was ‘seriously depressed’ due to the pressure he was facing. Two years later in 2022, he published a social media post about one of the ‘darkest periods’ in his life during the 2019 Australian Open where he opened up about substance abuse and self-harm.
More recently, Kysgios said he went through ‘intense’ anxiety during last year’s Wimbledon championships. At the Grand Slam, he reached his first-ever final before losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic. Around the same time as his quarter-final match, it was announced that an ex-partner of his had accused the tennis star of assaulting her the previous year. A police investigation into the matter and a court hearing then occurred.
“The amount of anxiety going around my mind is intense,” he said. “They’re the only people I trust [my team in my box], I need your energy right now, it helps. I need to hear something. Every time I go out on a tennis court I carry everything I’ve gone through with me. I was sitting there in tears, the whole disbelief of everything I’ve gone through. I just looked at my box and was like we’ve done it.”
Kyrgios later apologized for shoving his former girlfriend, Chiara Passari, to the ground. He pleaded guilty in the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates Court but did not receive a conviction because the offence was at the low end of seriousness for common assault. The judge also took into account that the incident was not premeditated and that Kyrgios had no previous criminal record.
After being sidelined from the Tour due to knee surgery, Kyrgios returned to action earlier this week in Stuttgart where he lost in the first round to Yibing Wu. That was the first match he had played since October. After that defeat, he wrote on social media urging fans ‘to be patient’ with him as he continues his comeback from injury.
Kyrgios will next play in Halle before heading to Wimbledon.
