Tennis star Nick Kyrgios slammed players who were suspended during the season for doping-related violations on Saturday as the Brisbanae International began.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) charged Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek with failing doping tests. The ITIA determined that Sinner wasn’t to blame after he had tested positive for an anabolic steroid in March. Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November after she had tested positive for trimetazidine.
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Both Sinner and Swiatek were No. 1 on the men’s and women’s sides of the sport, respectively.
Kyrgios said the violations were “disgusting for our sport.”
“Two world No.1s both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport. It’s a horrible look,” the Aussie star said. “Tennis integrity right now, and everyone knows it, but no one wants to speak about it, it’s awful.”
He went on to say he would never try to use a banned substance.
“Especially going through an injury like I went through, obviously there are things out there that could speed up healing, help me get back to prime level, help my recovery,” he said.
“There’s so many things out there that are prohibited in our sport that I could have been doing to get me back quicker … (but) that’s just not who I am. I’m always against that.”
Kyrgios wondered why officials didn’t reveal Sinner’s failed test sooner if he was going to be cleared anyway. The Italian star argued that his physiotherapist accidentally contaminated him during treatment with clostebol.
Kyrios hasn’t played in a tournament since June 2023 as he dealt with knee issues.
He teamed with Novak Djokovic in the doubles tournament at Brisbane International and has a matchup in the singles tournament against France’s Giovanni Perricard.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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