Nick Kyrgios Returns to Tennis After One-Month Cocaine Ban

Nick Kyrgios is free to return to professional tennis after accepting a one‑month suspension for a positive cocaine test and agreeing to undergo a treatment program.

The 31-year-old had been provisionally stood down since August 4. With that time served, his ban officially ended on Thursday, a fact confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Friday morning.

The case stems from an ATP Tour event in Mallorca in June, where Kyrgios tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine. He told ITIA investigators he had taken the drug on a night out before the tournament began, not during competition.

ITIA officials consulted World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) scientists, who judged the level of cocaine in his system to be consistent with that account. On that basis, the integrity body accepted that the use occurred out of competition, opening the door to a reduced sanction.

Under WADA rules, the default ban for this type of violation is three months. That penalty can be cut to one month if the player commits to a recognised treatment program. Kyrgios has agreed to such a program and must complete it or face the prospect of the suspension being reinstated.

When news of the positive test emerged last month, Kyrgios addressed it directly on social media.

“I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it,” he wrote, adding that his body had not been able to match the demands of his mind and that confronting the reality of being near the end of his career had been “harder than I ever imagined”.

If he expected understanding from the locker room, it did not arrive. His suspension drew little sympathy from fellow professionals, many of whom remember his history of publicly criticising other players who have failed drug tests.

Former world No.1 Simona Halep was among those to take a public swipe at the Australian after the news broke. At the US Open this week, Stefanos Tsitsipas went further, suggesting Kyrgios’ drug use was widely known among people on tour. Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov both said they could not feel sorry for their former rival.

Kyrgios once looked destined to sit permanently among the sport’s elite. He climbed to a career-high ranking of No.13 in the world and produced his finest run at Wimbledon in 2022, reaching the men’s singles final before losing to Novak Djokovic.

Since that peak, his body has betrayed him. A succession of injuries has stripped away his explosiveness, restricted his schedule and steadily removed him from the sharp end of the game. He now sits at No.918 in the rankings, a long way from Centre Court and the sport’s biggest stages.

He has his eligibility back. The question now is whether he still has the health, desire and time to make it matter.