Stefanos Tsitsipas Comments on Nick Kyrgios's Cocaine Suspension
Stefanos Tsitsipas did not flinch. Not when the question came, and not when the name “Nick Kyrgios” inevitably followed.
Fresh from knocking out 10th seed Arthur Fils in the first round of the US Open, the former world No 3 sat back and, for once, did not bother with diplomacy. Asked about Kyrgios’s suspension for cocaine use, Tsitsipas said what many in the sport had only hinted at.
He expected it.
“Here we go”
Kyrgios was banned earlier this month after revealing he had tested positive for cocaine in June while in Spain for an event. The Australian faces a possible four-year suspension, though a reduced sanction is widely anticipated given the circumstances and his cooperation.
Tsitsipas, though, was not caught off guard by the news.
“I mean, to be entirely honest with you, I knew about this before the announcement. Myself, I knew about it,” he said. “So what can I tell you? I will just tell you the truth. I knew about all of this before any announcement was made, and when I saw it on social media, I was, like, ‘Here we go.’ I kind of expected it, to be honest.”
It was a blunt admission, stripped of the usual tour politeness. And it came from a player whose history with Kyrgios is anything but quiet.
A rivalry that boiled over
Their relationship effectively detonated on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2022. Kyrgios, in full showman mode, stormed through to what remains his only Grand Slam final. Tsitsipas unraveled.
He fired balls directly at Kyrgios. He deliberately hit one into the crowd. After the match, he branded the Australian a “bully”, igniting one of the most talked-about feuds in recent tennis memory.
Since that fortnight in London, their careers have veered in opposite directions. Tsitsipas has remained a permanent fixture near the top of the game, still chasing the major title that continues to elude him. Kyrgios has largely battled injuries, his body breaking down just as his talent seemed ready to cash in.
When news of the positive test broke, Kyrgios spoke of feeling “helpless and alone”, and admitted that “none of that excuses what I did”. It was a rare public moment of contrition from one of the sport’s most polarising figures.
Tsitsipas, though, suggested the signs were already there.
“I’m not going to cover up someone”
“I knew that those were things that were happening away from the tennis courts. I will tell you that,” he said. “I’m not going to try and cover up someone that I know the truth for. I’ll consider myself a nice person with everyone, but these were behaviours that I personally heard on the tour and heard other people in that same environment saying those sort of things to me.”
The implication was clear: this was not a bolt from the blue for those inside the locker room. Whispers had been circulating. Stories had reached him. When the case finally became public, Tsitsipas felt confirmation more than shock.
“So when I saw it I was like, ‘well, pretty much expected, to be honest’. I am surprised it came so late, though.”
That last line hung in the air. Surprised it came so late. In a sport that fiercely guards its image, such a remark from a leading player cuts deep.
Kyrgios’s future now hangs in the balance. A long suspension could turn his comeback into a race against time, his body already fragile, his ranking in freefall. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, marches on in New York, chasing wins and, perhaps, a quieter chapter of his career.
The question for tennis is whether this saga becomes a one-off scandal or the start of a more uncomfortable conversation about what really happens “away from the tennis courts” – and who is willing to speak when the next name surfaces.
