Nick Kyrgios Provisionally Suspended After Positive Cocaine Test

Nick Kyrgios has been provisionally suspended from professional tennis after testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Australian provided a sample on June 22 during the ATP 250 event in Mallorca, Spain. A World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory confirmed on July 17 that the sample contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Cocaine is classified as a stimulant and a substance of abuse under the WADA Prohibited List and is prohibited in competition under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program.

Kyrgios’ mandatory provisional suspension began August 4. He has the right to appeal the suspension but has not done so.

While suspended, Kyrgios cannot play, coach, or attend tournaments sanctioned by the ATP, WTA, Grand Slams, World Tennis, or national tennis associations.

Kyrgios Accepts Responsibility

Kyrgios addressed the positive test publicly following the ITIA announcement, accepting responsibility and apologizing to his family, fans, sponsors, and younger supporters.

He described the incident as a major mistake and said the physical and emotional toll of repeated injuries and uncertainty surrounding the end of his career had taken a significant toll.

Kyrgios also said he plans to step away from public life and social media for 28 days while focusing on himself.

The Australian has spent much of the past several seasons attempting to return from serious wrist and knee injuries.

Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios tests positive for cocaine and will 'step away from public life to get myself right' as he faces controversial end to his career, aged 31 https://t.co/TXTH26qViv

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) August 19, 2026

The Jannik Sinner Irony Is Impossible to Ignore

The suspension comes with an unmistakable layer of irony.

Kyrgios has been one of the loudest critics of Jannik Sinner and the way tennis authorities handled Sinner’s anti-doping case.

Sinner twice tested positive for trace amounts of clostebol in March 2024. An independent tribunal ultimately accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance entered his system unintentionally through treatment from a member of his support team.

Kyrgios was having none of it.

Following the original ruling, Kyrgios argued that the amount detected was irrelevant and wrote that Sinner “should be gone.”

He continued criticizing the case for months.

In December 2024, Kyrgios attacked the handling of the Sinner and Iga Swiatek cases and questioned the integrity of professional tennis. Then, when Sinner agreed to serve a three-month suspension in February 2025 as part of a settlement with WADA, Kyrgios declared that “fairness in tennis does not exist.”

Nick Kyrgios says Jannik Sinner should be ‘gone for two years’ after positive steroid test: ‘Disappointed’ https://t.co/U9dtS8x5iT pic.twitter.com/vxMwQwRoIl

— New York Post (@nypost) August 20, 2024

Those comments will inevitably resurface now that Kyrgios himself is navigating the Tennis Anti-Doping Program.

The circumstances are not identical.

Cocaine is classified as a substance of abuse, and anti-doping rules provide the possibility of reduced sanctions when its use occurs outside competition and is unrelated to sporting performance.

Still, considering how aggressively Kyrgios criticized Sinner and the system that handled his case, Wednesday’s announcement represents an extraordinary reversal of circumstances.

What Happens Next for Nick Kyrgios?

For now, Kyrgios remains provisionally suspended.

Because cocaine is treated as a substance of abuse under the anti-doping rules, the eventual length of any suspension could depend heavily on when and why the substance was used.

The ITIA has not announced a final sanction.

Kyrgios also retains the right to appeal his provisional suspension, although the agency said Wednesday that he has not done so.

Until the case is resolved, one of tennis’ most outspoken critics of the sport’s anti-doping system is now subject to that very same system.