"I was abusing alcohol a lot, drugs and that spiralled out of control" - Kyrgios details mental health struggles

Nick Kyrgios explained how his life went out of control before the pandemic made him change his lifestyle and repair relationships he destroyed.

2022 has been a kind year for Kyrgios as the Australian finally seems happy both on the court and off the court. The Australian did not always life a happy life. The 2022 Australian Open doubles champion, who has previously acknowledged to self-harm and suicidal thoughts, told Wide World of Sports that he "wasn't communicating" in the years running up to 2020 and used drugs and alcohol to deal with his difficulties.

He said:

“It was very serious, to the point of self-harm and it’s not OK. 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."

Kyrgios continued:

“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 finished off with:

“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. I was cutting, burning, just pretty f---ed up shit. 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.”