Andy Murray helped save Nick Kyrgios’ life by spotting signs of ‘self-harming’, Wimbledon finalist’s mum reveals
NICK KYRGIOS’ mother Norlaila has revealed that Andy Murray spotted signs that her son had been self-harming.
The Aussie has previously spoken of his mental health battles, describing how his wellbeing “spiralled out of control”.
Following Kyrgios’ amazing run to the Wimbledon final, Norlaila has opened up about that difficult period.
She told the Sydney Morning Herald: “It’s been a tough, tough journey, just dealing with criticism and just trying to protect him but I can’t really protect him.
“The self-harming… I saw that and people told me that. I asked him about it and he didn’t want to talk about it at that time.
“John [Morris, Kyrgios’ former manager] spoke to me that Andy (Murray) is worried about Nick because he can see some evidence of self-harm. And I blame others for that.
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“For just pressuring him, criticising him. Even people we thought might be supporting him.
“That period was very hard. I just wanted to be next to him constantly so that I could see him
“And if I can’t see him I worry about him so much that it becomes very difficult.”
Norlaila has been unable to come to Kyrgios’ matches in recent years due to health issues, but still supports him from afar.
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Following his quarter-final victory over Cristian Garin, Nick said: “Obviously my mum’s health has been a bit rocky.
“It’s been pretty bad for a while now. Obviously she’s not able to kind of come to these — she’s not allowed to travel that much.
“Even Australian Open, she won’t come to my matches because she’s got, like, a pacemaker and stuff, it’s too stressful, and all that type of stuff.
“Yeah, I mean, I try and talk to her.
“She’ll wake up in the morning, say, I just saw the live scores. It looks like you had a tough match. I’m just like, You have no idea. Obviously.
“I’m just glad she’s able to kind of keep an eye on me from home. Obviously it would be amazing for her to be here.
“But she’s obviously dealing with a lot of things. She has to make sure my dogs are fed at home as well.
“My brother just had a kid five days ago, George. It’s been a pretty eventful couple days for Mr. Kyrgios.
“So, yeah, hopefully mum is watching this and she’s proud.”
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Kyrgios, 27, was joined in London by girlfriend Costeen and sister Halimah.
Earlier this year, Kyrgios opened up on his mental health battles to Wide World of Sports.
He said: “It was very serious, to the point of self-harm and it’s not okay. I guess I pushed everyone that cared about me away and I wasn’t communicating, and I just shut down real life and I was trying to handle and tackle my problems head-on.
“I was abusing alcohol a lot, drugs and that spiralled out of control. Now I barely drink – I literally have a glass of wine at dinner.
“That was the initial kind of thing I had to clean up a little bit and then build my relationship back with my family and get into healthier habits like the basics; like diet, getting good sleep, trying to train a little bit more and that was it. I think Covid helped me a lot with that.”
He went on to add: “I felt I was letting people down all the time. I felt worthless to be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable, I hated my life at one stage.
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“I was cutting, burning, just pretty f***ed up s***. It was so dark that I kind of liked it as well, like asking people to do it and stuff.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stranger (and stronger). I’m still a bit cooked.”
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.