Simona Halep’s Brutal Message to Nick Kyrgios After Failed Drug Test: “Never Kick Someone When They’re Down”

Nick Kyrgios tested positive for cocaine and has been serving his provisional suspension since August 4.

Simona Halep’s Brutal Message to Nick Kyrgios After Failed Drug Test: “Never Kick Someone When They’re Down”

Simona Halep, Nick Kyrgios (Image via Tennis Temple, People.com)

When Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek failed their respective drug tests, Nick Kyrgios had a lot to say. He, in fact, accused them of deliberately consuming clostebol and trimetazidine to enhance their performance.

The Aussie even used to boast that unlike Sinner and Swiatek, he was a “clean” player. But now, many fans are telling him that he no longer belongs to the category of “clean” players, as he tested positive for the banned drug cocaine and has been provisionally suspended since August 4.

He did not just make scathing remarks about Swiatek and Sinner but also about Simona Halep when she tested positive for the banned drug roxadustat that contaminated a licensed nutritional supplement she was taking. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) slapped a four-year ban on her, but she approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and her ban was reduced to nine months.

Kyrgios was one of her harshest critics. He said if he had taken a banned substance, he would have already won five Grand Slam titles, and that players need to stop taking “shady” stuff. Halep has finally responded, though she did not take his name, when she wrote this on her Instagram story:

Never kick someone when they’re down. Life has a strange way of changing positions. And an even stranger way of revealing the difference between an accident and a choice.

Check out her post here:

Kyrgios submitted the sample on June 22 this year at the ATP 250 Mallorca Open. It contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Halep, at the age of 33, called time on her career last February. She was also very critical of the way the ITIA handled Sinner and Swiatek’s cases compared to her own.

Sinner and Swiatek did not face a lengthy suspension, as Swiatek served just one month of suspension, while Sinner, after initially escaping a punishment, was handed a three-month ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which initially appealed to the CAS, demanding a ban of between one and two years, before withdrawing it.

During the off-season last year, Halep and Sinner practiced together in Dubai, and it surprised the fans, given that the Romanian said, “I think it is clear that it was judged in a completely different way to my case and I don’t believe that is fair at all,” about his doping case.

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Nick Kyrgios’ statement after ITIA’s ban

Nick Kyrgios took to his Instagram story and wrote a long statement, admitting that he took cocaine due to the mental and emotional struggles he has been dealing with due to his injury woes. Kyrgios also wrote that he would be taking a 28-day break from social media and public life.

Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios (Image via BBC)

I wanted you to hear this from me first. I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine. 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.

Kyrgios was last seen in action in the first round of Wimbledon doubles, where he played alongside Alexander Bublik.

My body hasn’t been able to do what my mind expects it do, and coming to terms with being near the end of my career has been harder than I ever imagined. At times I’ve felt hopeless and alone. However, the good news is that this has given me a wake-up call.

Nick Kyrgios added

Kyrgios has played four singles matches this season. In Mallorca, he lost to Adam Walton in the opening round.

Also read: Coco Gauff Speaks on Potentially Playing With Carlos Alcaraz in Mixed Doubles