Nick Kyrgios: 'It's pressure, all eyes are on you, waiting, I couldn't handle it' ; Photo: Getty Images/Wayne Taylor.
Nick Kyrgios was admitted to a psychiatric clinic after Wimbledon in 2019 after “contemplating suicide.”
Speaking about the latest episodes of the Netflix documentary series The Break Point, the Australian tennis player spoke with renewed candor about his mental health problems. health, which he had in recent years.
Kyrgios, 28, reached the Wimbledon final last year but has been known for his partying in previous years. During the 2019 event, he frequented the pubs in Wimbledon Village throughout the championship – his favorite was the Dog & Fox — and joked during media conferences at the time about his antics.
But he has since shared that he was masking the “lowest point” of his career and that he was abusing drugs. He also said that the sleeve he wore on the court was a way to hide the scars from self-mutilation.
“It's the pressure of having everyone looking at you, the anticipation, I couldn't handle it,” he said. “I hated the person that I was. I drank, abused drugs, lost touch with my family, alienated all my close friends. You could tell that I was in pain. My whole arm was covered in scars – that's why I put on a sleeve to hide it all. I really wondered if I wanted to commit suicide.
The Aussie put on a white sleeve to hide the signs of self-mutilation. Photo: Getty Images/Daniel Leal
“I lost at Wimbledon, I woke up and my dad was sitting next to me on the bed and he was like a continuous cry. This was a bit of a wake up call for me. I thought, “OK, I can't keep doing this.” I ended up in a psychiatric hospital in London to deal with my problems.”
The second series of five episodes of “Breaking Points” is scheduled to air on June 21, with two episodes focusing on last year's Wimbledon tournament.
They include cameos by Ayla Tomljanovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ons Jaber, including her work as Serena Williams' doubles partner at Eastbourne last June. But the first two episodes mostly focus on Kyrgios' surprise advance to the final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
In particularly tense scenes, Kyrgios' victory over Tsitsipas in the third round comes to the fore, in which the Greek player called him a “hooligan” and accused him of creating a “circus” with his behavior on the court.
During matches, Kygrios wore a full sleeve armrest on his right arm to hide his scars. Photo: Getty Images/Rob Carr
Immediately after the match, Kyrgios comes out of the court and says animatedly: “I can't wait for this press conference, bro, I can't wait.” But a few hours later, at a quieter time, returning to his accommodation near the stadium, Kyrgios reviews the online backlash and trolling he received for his behavior during the match. “These comments stay with me,” he said.
Episodes close to becoming Kyrgios' show reveal behind-the-scenes moments between him and his team. At one point, Kyrgios, who has had a tumultuous relationship with 22-time champion Rafael Nadal in the past, calls the Spaniard “the greatest of all time”.
Along with the highs, the documentary didn't shy away from including that an Australian court had charged Kyrgios with assaulting his former partner, news that broke ahead of his quarter-final. The charges were dropped by a Justice of the Peace in February after Kyrgios pleaded guilty to pushing his ex-girlfriend in 2021.
After winning that match, he shared more details about his mental state. “The amount of anxiety that has taken over my mind is strong,” he said. “These are the only people I trust [my team in my boxing], I need your energy right now, it helps. I need to hear something. Every time I step out onto the tennis court, I carry with me everything I've been through. I sat there in tears, complete disbelief in everything I went through. I just looked at my box and thought we did it.”
Kyrgios is fighting to get back in shape for Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, seven months before the tour. to knee injury. Returning to Stuttgart on Tuesday, he lost to China's Wu Yibin 7-5, 6-3 and asked his fans to have “patience” with him.
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