The story of Nick Kyrgios and his doping ban has taken a completely new turn. The announcement that the 31-year-old has now admitted to using the drug and agreed to treatment means that the punishment has been reduced from three months to a one-month suspension.
Kyrgios has also announced that this occurred in connection with a night out in Magaluf, two days before he was due to play his first match in the ATP tournament in Mallorca.
This detail now has a very big significance. If Kyrgios had taken cocaine in connection with the tournament, he would have risked a four-year ban. Now the punishment will be a one-month suspension instead. Since the suspension came into effect on August 4, the Australian is now allowed to return to the tennis tour.
The Australian has a long way to go, however, as injury problems have seen him fall to 918th in the rankings and he has only played four matches this year. He will therefore need ATP Tour organisers to give him a wild card to secure a place in the tournaments.
Kyrgios has described the incident on social media as “a big mistake.” Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has clashed with Kyrgios on court before, has a different opinion. When asked about it in connection with the US Open, the Greek replied:
"Exactly what I expected," he said of the positive doping test.
