Australia’s Nick Kyrgios participates in a training session before the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, December 28, 2024 (Photo: Patrick Hamilton/AFP) / — Image restricted to editorial use – Commercial use is strictly prohibited —
Nick Kyrgios on Saturday slammed the leniency given to Italian tennis world number one Jannik Sinner after he failed a drug test, saying integrity in sport was “terrible”.
Sinner tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol twice in March.
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However, the International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) chose not to impose a suspension, accepting his claim that the steroids entered his body through contamination from a physical therapist.
Read: Why did Iga Swiatek receive a one-month doping ban?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where the ruling is pending.
Kyrgios has previously been harshly critical of the ITIA’s decision and did not hold back at a press conference ahead of his return to action at the Brisbane International after an 18-month injury absence.
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“Everyone knows the integrity of tennis now, but no one wants to talk about it. It’s terrible,” the Australian said.
“It’s actually terrible and it’s not okay. I know people don’t like it when I just talk honestly about things.
“As a kid growing up playing tennis, I enjoyed competing and enjoyed playing.
“You may get emotional and throw a racket, but that’s nothing compared to cheating or taking performance-enhancing drugs.”
‘It’s disgusting’
Asked if he was accusing Sinner of wrongdoing, Kyrgios told journalists to check the facts.
“He also failed two doping tests at different times,” Kyrgios said.
“It didn’t happen one after the other. They were different time frames. So if you think that’s how it got into his system, if you think that’s how it happened, then .
“But I mean, if he didn’t do anything wrong, why did they take away his winnings and points? Obviously, they realized there was something wrong with it. ”
Former women’s world number one Iga Swiatek was also suspended for doping in 2024, and Kyrgios said the sport’s image had been tarnished.
“I think this incident has been badly handled in our sport,” he said.
Read: Jannik Sinner ‘surprised’ by WADA appeal in doping case
The ITIA found Swiatek’s violation was unintentional and she was only given a one-month suspension.
“It’s disgusting for our sport to see two world No. 1s both banned for doping. It’s a terrible look,” Kyrgios said. He has been out of competition since sustaining knee and wrist injuries at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Kyrgios has undergone reconstructive surgery on his wrist, and although the surgery was successful, he said it is unclear how his wrist will cope with tournament play.
“I’m not going to take anything for granted,” he said.
“I’m going to go out there and play, and it’s literally going to be a symptomatic injury day in and day out.
“If you’re going to play a long game, jam the right way and you never know what’s going to happen the next day. Those are the types of injuries.”
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Kyrgios’ return starts with a match against rising French star Giovanni Mpesi Pericard.
