Stefanos Tsitsipas said Nick Kyrgios’s provisional suspension after testing positive for cocaine was “pretty much expected”, although he admitted he was surprised the case had taken so long to become public.
The Greek player was speaking after defeating 10th seed Arthur Fils in the first round of the US Open in New York on Monday.
Kyrgios revealed last month that he had failed a drug test in Mallorca in June. The International Tennis Integrity Agency later confirmed that a sample provided during an ATP 250 event on June 22 contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.
The ITIA said the 31-year-old Australian’s provisional suspension had been in place since August 4. He has not appealed the decision and is barred from playing, coaching at or attending events organised or sanctioned by the ATP, WTA, Grand Slam tournaments or national associations while the suspension remains in force.
Asked whether the news had come as a shock, Tsitsipas said: “Pretty much expected, to be honest. I am surprised it came so late, though.”
He added that he had known about the matter before it was announced publicly.
“I knew about this before the announcement. Myself, I knew about it,” Tsitsipas said. “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.”
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios have a long-standing history of tension, most notably from their fiery Wimbledon meeting in 2022. During that match, Tsitsipas struck shots towards his opponent and into the crowd before later describing Kyrgios as a “bully”.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final that year, has made only sporadic appearances since because of persistent injuries. After acknowledging the failed test, he said he had made a “huge mistake” and felt “helpless and alone”, while stressing that his struggles did not excuse his conduct.
Tsitsipas said he had previously heard accounts of behaviour involving Kyrgios away from the court, although he did not specify what those reports concerned.
“I knew that those were things that were happening away from the tennis courts,” he said. “I’m not going to try and cover up someone that I know the truth for.”
He added: “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.”
