"Drinking like a fish": Nick Kyrgios reflects on his mental health struggles and addiction in 2019

Nick Kyrgios spoke about the “worst year of his life” when he struggled with mental health issues in 2019. The Australian admitted it was a period when he drank alcohol every night, even before playing official matches the next morning.

The former world No. 13 dazzled the tennis world from a young age. He won the Australian Open junior doubles title in 2013 and made his breakthrough in 2014, when he defeated then-world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, before losing to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals.

Although Kyrgios has been hailed as perhaps the greatest talent of his generation, he struggled for several years to fully convince, also gaining notoriety for his frequent outbursts against the crowd or umpires.

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In 2019, Kyrgios experienced a ranking drop early in the year, taking him out of the top 70. However, he managed to recover during the second half of the season, finishing the year in the top 30. According to the 29-year-old player, 2019 was a particularly difficult year in his personal life, as he shared on The Louis Theroux Podcast.

"That was the worst year. That was a bad period. I guess I was just struggling with being who I was," he said. "It was hard at that time. I was playing. I didn't think I could take a step back from the sport. I wanted to work on myself and get myself in the right headspace."

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"It was just playing and playing and playing and dealing with everything, and it was a dark time. I was drinking, and I was spiralling out of control. I was continuing to play and travel. It was a lot."

The former Wimbledon runner-up was asked how many drinks he had during that time, admitting that he once faced Rafael Nadal after a night of heavy drinking. “20 to 30 drinks, easy. I was drinking like a fish. Anything, vodka. And then wake up and play Nadal the next day."

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