Nick Kyrgios Says He Previously Contemplated Suicide, Checked into Psych Ward in 2019

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios revealed that he contemplated suicide at one point in his career and checked himself into a psychiatric ward after losing in the second round of 2019's Wimbledon tournament against Rafael Nadal.

The revelations came during Neflix's upcoming documentary series Break Point (h/t Molly McElwee of Yahoo Sports):

"That pressure, having all eyes on you, the expectation, I couldn't deal with it. I hated the kind of person I was. I was drinking, abusing drugs, lost my relationship with my family, pushed all my close friends away. You could tell I was hurting. My whole arm was covered in scars—that's why I actually got my arm sleeve to cover it all. I was genuinely contemplating if I wanted to commit suicide."

"I lost at Wimbledon, I woke up and my dad was just sitting next to me on the bed and he was like full-blown crying. That was a bit wake-up call for me. I was like, okay, I cannot keep doing this. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems."

Kyrgios regularly attended various pubs in Wimbledon Village during the 2019 event.

Much of the documentary focuses on Kyrgios' run to the 2022 Wimbledon Final, with one section highlighting that during the tournament the tennis star was charged in Australia with assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to pushing her, and the charge was ultimately dropped.

After his quarterfinal win over Cristian Garin, which happened shortly after news broke of the assault charge, Kyrgios spoke about his anxiety, a moment captured on Netflix's documentary:

"The amount of anxiety going around my mind is intense. They're the only people I trust [my team in my box], I need your energy right now, it helps. I need to hear something. Every time I go out on a tennis court I carry everything I've gone through with me. I was sitting there in tears, the whole disbelief of everything I've gone through. I just looked at my box and was like, 'We've done it.'"

Kyrgios has appeared in just one tournament in 2023 after undergoing knee surgery in January, falling in straight sets to Wu Yibing at the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday.

If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 for 24/7 access to a trained counselor. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741. For more information about ongoing support and mental health resources, contact the HelpLine at the National Alliance on Mental Illness by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or emailing [e-mail].