Nick Kyrgios Faced a Three-Month Ban for Cocaine: Here's Why It Was Cut to Just One

Nick Kyrgios has accepted and served a reduced one-month suspension for testing positive for cocaine, after entering a treatment programme approved by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that cut the standard three-month ban by two-thirds.

The former Wimbledon finalist had been provisionally suspended since 4 August after a sample he gave at an ATP 250 event in Mallorca in June tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, a positive test for a substance of abuse carries a default three-month ban, but that penalty can be reduced to one month if the player completes an approved treatment programme, which Kyrgios did.

What the ITIA Found

Cocaine is classified by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a substance of abuse rather than a performance-enhancing drug, a category covering substances used recreationally rather than to gain an on-court advantage. Under the rules, that distinction matters: use of a substance of abuse is only treated as a doping offence when it happens in competition, while use away from competition carries a lighter path to resolution through an approved treatment programme.

Why the Ban Was Reduced

The key detail behind the reduction lies in when and why Kyrgios used the drug. During an interview with ITIA investigators, the 31-year-old explained that his use of cocaine had occurred socially during a night out before he was due to play in Mallorca.

The ITIA consulted an independent scientific expert at a WADA-accredited laboratory, who found that explanation was consistent with the level of cocaine detected in his sample. As a result, the ITIA accepted that Kyrgios' use was outside of competition, a finding that opened the door to the lighter treatment-programme pathway rather than the harsher penalties reserved for in-competition use.

What Happens to His Result

His suspension officially ended on 3 September, subject to completion of the programme. Kyrgios will forfeit the prize money and ranking points he earned at the Mallorca event, where his first-round loss to fellow Australian Adam Walton turned out to be his last competitive singles outing this season.

A Player Who Once Criticised Others for Lenient Bans

The case carries added weight because of Kyrgios' own history of criticising what he saw as lenient sanctions handed to rivals. He had previously called the bans given to Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek 'disgusting' for the sport. Sinner served a three-month ban after two positive tests for the steroid clostebol in 2024, while Swiatek accepted a one-month ban after a positive test for the metabolic modulator trimetazidine.

Sky Sports Tennis pundit Annabel Croft said Kyrgios was now facing the kind of criticism he once directed at others, describing him as someone who has 'always struck me as a tormented soul out there' and is 'never far from creating headlines.'

Kyrgios' Apology

Kyrgios had apologised on Instagram last month, calling the failed test a 'huge mistake' and saying he took 'full responsibility.' He said the pressures of nearing the end of his career, compounded by prolonged injury problems, had left him feeling 'helpless and alone' at times, adding that he was 'sorry to the kids who follow me.'