Nick Kyrgios (31 years old) has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for cocaine.
The BBC reports that the Australian tennis player provided a sample during the Mallorca Open on June 22, in which benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, was later detected.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) reported that Kyrgios, who was once ranked world number 13, had the right to appeal the provisional suspension, “but he has not done so to date”.
Cocaine is classified as a stimulant and substance of abuse on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.
With this suspension Kyrgios cannot play, train, or attend Grand Slam tournaments or any event sanctioned by the men’s and women’s tennis tours.
The Australian has only played four singles matches this season, after dealing with knee and wrist injuries in recent years.
Nick Kyrgios, who in Mallorca lost in the first round to Adam Walton, turned to his Instagram account to share a statement in which he acknowledges his guilt, “none of that justifies what I did,” and in which he accepts “full responsibility.”
“My body has not been able to do what my mind expected of it,” shares Kyrgios, who acknowledges that the injuries had taken “an enormous toll, both mentally and physically.”
“Accepting that I am close to the end of my career has been harder than I ever imagined,” he stressed.
Kyrgios announced that he would step away from social media and public life for the next 28 days to “focus on recovering.”
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