Nick Kyrgios cleared to return to tennis after accepting one-month suspension for positive cocaine test

Nick Kyrgios is eligible to return to tennis after accepting a one-month suspension for testing positive for cocaine.

The 31-year-old Australian was provisionally suspended on August 4 after a sample he submitted during the Mallorca Open in June was found to contain benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Kyrgios told investigators from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that he used cocaine at a nightclub in Magaluf in the early hours of June 20.

Two days later he played his first round match at the Mallorca tournament, losing in straight sets to his compatriot Adam Walton.

The ITIA accepted that he used cocaine out of competition after consulting with an independent expert.

Kyrgios could have faced a maximum three-month ban, but it was reduced after he entered a treatment programme.

His one-month suspension ended Thursday.

Kyrgios, who has fallen to 918th in the world rankings, will also forfeit his €6,570 (£5,650) prize money.

When the positive result was announced, Kyrgios said he would step away from social media and public life for the next 28 days to “focus on getting myself together.”

The former world number 13 has played just four singles matches this season, having struggled with knee and wrist injuries in recent years.

He last played in men’s doubles at Wimbledon, where he and partner Alexander Bublik lost in the first round.

After his initial suspension was announced, Kyrgios said injuries over the past few years had taken “a huge toll on me, both mentally and physically.”

“My body has not been able to do what my mind expects it to do,” she wrote in a lengthy statement on Instagram.

“Coming to terms with being near the end of my career has been more difficult than I ever imagined.

“None of that excuses what I did.”

Cocaine is classified as a stimulant and substance of abuse on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.

Kyrgios has long been a controversial figure in tennis.

His on-court behavior has been widely criticized and he has been fined numerous times for breaking rackets, uttering audible obscenities, and arguing with the umpire.

In 2023 he admitted to having assaulted an ex-girlfriend two years earlier. He avoided a criminal conviction.

He was further criticized for making a series of comments that have been considered misogynistic.

In 2024 he shared a post by controversial influencer Andrew Tate. He later said he had done “everything possible” to distance himself from the self-proclaimed misogynist.

Kyrgios also criticized the handling of two high-profile anti-doping cases involving top players Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, calling them “disgusting” for tennis.

Kyrgios won seven ATP Tour singles titles and reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

He and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis won the Australian Open men’s doubles title in 2022.

Kyrgios has spoken about his struggles with mental health, saying he “actually contemplated” suicide and spent time in a psychiatric hospital in London after losing at Wimbledon in 2019.