Nick Kyrgios: From ‘runs on bananas and coke cola’ comment to 29-word message by former world No 1
Nick Kyrgios has never been one to mince his words, but those very words he used to criticise the likes of Simona Halep, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have now come back to haunt him.
The Australian was an outspoken critic when the trio failed drug tests in the past with Halep testing positive for the banned drug roxadustat at the 2022 US Open while Sinner tested positive for clostebol in March 2024 and Swiatek returned positive samples for trimetazidine in August 2024.
Halep was handed a four-year ban in September 2023 and Kyrgios was quick to voice his opinion, stating on social media: “I’d imagine if I was taking similar things to be banned for 4 years I’d have about 5 slams.”
He also took aim at Maria Sakkari after the Greek admitted that she has some sympathy as the app that is being used by the World Ant-Doping Agency to confirm players’ whereabouts for tests is “horrible”.
“It’s just very stressful. I wake up almost every night to use the bathroom. If that’s close to my time slot, I’m just thinking ‘Do I go? Do I not go? Do I just wait if they come?’ It’s just very stressful,” she added.
Nick Kyrgios News
How long Nick Kyrgios could be banned from tennis after positive cocaine test
Nick Kyrgios’ five biggest controversies examined as Aussie suspended after positive cocaine test
Kyrgios, of course, didn’t hold back in his reply as he insisted he “runs on bananas and coke cola”.
“Ehhhh not really lol, I run on bananas and coke cola [sic] in 5 set battles,” he wrote on X. “And my record in them speaks for itself. Maybe players should just stop taking shady sh*t look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say yep I did it right. Not hard.”
He also accused Swiatek of making excuses writing: “The excuse that we can all use is that we didn’t know. Simply didn’t know. Professionals at the highest level of sport can now just say ‘we didn’t know’”
But Sinner bore the brunt of his criticism as he constantly attacked the Italian as he declared: “Ridiculous. Whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream… yeah nice.”
Nearly two years later and Kyrgios finds himself in a similar position as he tested positive for benzoylecgonine – a cocaine metabolite – from a sample taken during the Mallorca Championships in June, and has been provisionally suspended for four years.
Halep, though, has decided not to attack Kyrgios as she shared a pointed message on Instagram, although she doesn’t mention the Australian.
“Never kick someone when they’re down,” she wrote. “Life has a strange way of changing positions. And an even stranger way of revealing the difference between an accident and a choice.”
Kyrgios took responsibility for his actions on social media.
“I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine,” he wrote. “I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it.
“I’m sorry to my fans, my family, my sponsors and everyone close to me. Above all, I’m sorry to the kids who follow me. I know the example this sets and I’m deeply disappointed in myself.”
