Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has revealed he used to have 20-30 drinks every night before competing in huge tournaments, having spoken about his tricky relationship with booze in a recent podcast.
Kyrgios narrowly missed out on the top spot after playing his first ever Grand Slam final yesterday (Sunday 10 July), having been beaten by Serbian player Novak Djokovic.
But despite ranking as one of the best tennis stars in the world, Kyrgios has become as well known for his skill as he has for his frequent on-court outbursts - having admitted that he never no longer judges anyone anymore because he’s ‘done some terrible things’ and ‘been through so much’.
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In a recent interview on the Turn Up The Talk podcast, which features ‘open and honest chats’ with athletes and ‘thought leaders’ about everything from their career to their mental health, Kyrgios explained: “[I was] probably drinking 20 to 30 drinks every night – you know, just in my room on my own - waking up [and] playing.
“Acapulco, probably one of the biggest tournaments you can play, and I was literally in my room drinking. And I’m about to play my first round and I’m just literally contemplating whether I even wanted to live at that point.
“I was just standing on the balcony in my room and my trainer came in and he was just like, ‘Look we gotta go out there and play in 10 minutes'.
“So, I played that match, ended up winning. And then I won that tournament – I beat Nadal, Zverev, Wawrinka... Some of the best players in the world, and probably one of the best results of my life."
He said he was then just going back to his room and 'partying every night', adding: "But it wasn’t even partying, it wasn’t even for the enjoyment of doing it with your mates. I didn’t even know anyone I was with – and just doing it all again, like, waking up hungover and just going out there any playing.”
Kyrgios said winning tournaments seemed to ‘just mask all of it’, which was the ‘darkest thing ever’.
“All my goal is now is just to guide people though that s**t because it was brutal for me," he said.
"It was so hard, I felt so alone, obviously to the point of self-harm and thinking about committing suicide – it was tough.”
Footage of the conversation was uploaded to the Turn Up The Talk YouTube page, where many fans praised Kyrgios’ honesty about his mental health issues.
One commented: “Amazing interview. Great questions too. I admire how vulnerable and honest Nick is. He has matured a lot. He’s so talented. Love you Nick. We need you here.”
Someone else wrote: "Just can’t wait to watch more of this guy in the court, but glad he’s doing things that come first."
A third added: "It’s crazy how relatable some of this is. Most of us look at tennis players like they’re not even real people at times. It’s great that Nick has seemed to get over his hard times. Happy for him!"
Topics: Sport
Jess Hardiman