"I was spiraling out of control...Drinking 20-30 drinks in a night" - Nick Kyrgios opens up about the "worst year" of his career
Nick Kyrgios recently shared his experiences about his mental health struggles in 2019. Kyrgios said there was a period in 2019 during which he abused alcohol every night, sometimes before playing a match the next morning.
Kyrgios' ATP Tour-level debut came in the early 2010s and the Australian quickly gained recognition for his crafty and skillful style of play. However, over the next few years, the Australian also became notorious for his frequent on-court outbursts, which resulted in him often being penalized by chair umpires and the ATP itself.
Things took a serious turn for Nick Kyrgios on the mental health front, particularly in 2019, as he had previously recalled in the Netflix docuseries "Break Point." This week, Kyrgios touched on the subject once again, on "The Louis Theroux Podcast."
The former World No. 13 delved deep into the "dark" nature of his everyday existence in 2019, saying he "struggled" and was "spiraling out of control."
Kyrgios said,
"That was the worst year [2019]. That was a bad period. I guess I was just struggling with being who I was. It was hard at that time. I was playing. I didn't think I could take a step back from the sport. I wanted to work on myself and get myself in the right headspace" (55:03).
"It was just playing and playing and playing and dealing with everything and it was a dark time. I was drinking and I was spiralling out of control. I was continuing to play and travel. It was a lot"
The 2022 Wimbledon Championships finalist was asked by the host Louis Theroux about how much alcohol he was consuming everyday. Kyrgios said he was consuming between 20 to 30 drinks daily and recalled stepping on to the court to play against Rafael Nadal after one night of such excessive alcohol consumption.
"20 to 30 drinks, easy. I was drinking like a fish. Anything, vodka. And then wake up and play Nadal the next day."
Kyrgios also turned to self-harm that year. In December last year, the Australian had recalled how Andy Murray had noticed his wretched condition and advised him on getting better.
"I was just so stuck in my ways" - When Nick Kyrgios spoke about not listening to Andy Murray's advice
Late last year, Nick Kyrgios featured as a guest on "Piers Morgan Uncensored." During his appearance on the show, Kyrgios spoke to the host Morgan about Andy Murray spotting signs of self-harm on the Australian in 2019. According to the 29-year-old, the former World No. 1 had tried to help, but Kyrgios didn't pay heed.
"He saw it [the self-harm] and he said, ‘What’s that on your arm?’ It was pretty bad at that stage. Andy obviously was trying to give me advice on it. But I was just so stuck in my ways at that time that I didn’t listen. Obviously, I’m very thankful. I thank him a lot."
Nick Kyrgios is currently well on his way to completing his comeback after almost two years out of the sport with injury and subsequent surgery. He is slated to feature in the team tennis exhibition event, the World Tennis League, in December. The 29-year-old has also spoken about his intention to play at the 2025 Australian Open.