NEW YORK — Stefanos Tsitsipas said he knew before the announcement that Nick Kyrgios would test positive for cocaine.
“I knew about this before the announcement. Myself, I knew about it; I am surprised it came so late,” the Greek said at a press conference in New York, when asked by CLAY after his 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 and 6-4 victory over French player Arthur Fils.
“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,” added the former world number three this Monday.
The former world number three elaborated: “I knew that those were things that were happening away from the tennis courts. I will tell you that. 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 behaviors that I personally heard on the tour and heard other people in that same environment saying those sort of things to me.”
Kyrgios, 31, tested positive at a control on 22 June 2026 during the ATP 250 in Mallorca. On 17 July 2026, a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed the presence of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Due to its stimulant properties, cocaine is on the WADA Prohibited Substances List.
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Minutes after the news became public, Kyrgios issued an apology: “I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I apologise to my fans, my family, my sponsors and everyone close to me. Above all, I apologise to the kids who look up to me. I know what kind of example this sets and I am deeply disappointed in myself.”
The Greek and the Australian have cultivated one of the most turbulent relationships on the circuit in recent years: the two played at Wimbledon 2022 one of the most heated matches in the tournament’s history, with ball-hitting incidents and exchanges of words; Kyrgios has also mocked Tsitsipas on social media on several occasions.
“He has a very evil side to him,” Tsitsipas said of Kyrgios after that match. “It’s constant bullying, that’s what he does. He bullies the opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself.”
