Nick Kyrgios reveals he checked into psychiatric ward after 2019 Wimbledon defeat
Content warning: This article includes mention of suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 988.
Nick Kyrgios is known as the bad boy of tennis, but in the new episodes of Netflix's tennis reality show "Break Point," he opened up about what's been going on under the surface, including checking himself into a psychiatric facility. He also revealed he considered taking his own life during a tough period a few years ago.
To the public, it seemed like nothing was amiss with Kyrgios at Wimbledon in 2019. He was doing his Kyrgios thing: drinking, partying and joking about it with the media the next day. But all of that was just a facade he put on to hide the pain.
“That pressure, having all eyes on you, the expectation, I couldn’t deal with it,” he said via The Telegraph. “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.”
Kyrgios was defeated in the second round at Wimbledon 2019, and the loss was difficult for him to handle. But it was tougher for his father, which is what made Kyrgios realize he needed to get some help.
“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, OK, I cannot keep doing this. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.”
Kyrgios made those comments during one of two "Break Point" episodes that center on Wimbledon 2022, during which he broke out and made it to a Grand Slam final for the first time. He lost to Novak Djokovic, but put a big bow on breakout when he made it all the way to the quarterfinals at the US Open just over a month later.