Top News

Nick Kyrgios is free to return to competitive tennis after completing a one-month suspension following a positive cocaine test at the ATP event in Mallorca. The Australian accepted the reduced sanction after entering an ITIA-approved treatment programme.

Kyrgios had been provisionally suspended since August 4 after a sample provided during the Mallorca tournament in June tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that his suspension ended on September 3, subject to completion of the treatment programme.

The 31-year-old can therefore return to competition from September 4. His latest case follows a difficult period in which injuries and limited match time had already disrupted his career.

Why Was Nick Kyrgios Banned?

Kyrgios tested positive for cocaine after providing a urine sample while competing at the ATP 250 event in Mallorca, Spain, in June.

During his interview with ITIA investigators, Kyrgios admitted that he had used cocaine socially during a night out before his scheduled match. He said he attended a party at his hotel on June 19 before travelling to a nightclub in Magaluf.

According to his account, he used cocaine provided by another person during the night and returned to his hotel at around 3am on June 20.

The ITIA consulted an independent scientific expert at a WADA-accredited laboratory. The expert found that the level of cocaine detected in Kyrgios' sample was consistent with his explanation that the substance had been consumed outside competition.

As a result, the ITIA accepted that the cocaine use was out of competition. Under the applicable rules, that allowed for a reduced sanction compared with the standard three-month suspension.

How Did Kyrgios' Ban Get Reduced?

The default suspension for this type of violation is three months. However, the rules allow the sanction to be reduced to one month if the player commits to an ITIA-approved treatment programme.

Kyrgios entered such a programme, allowing his one-month period of ineligibility to be backdated to August 4, when his provisional suspension began.

The ITIA said the suspension concluded on September 3, provided Kyrgios complied with the conditions of the programme. Failure to meet those conditions could result in an additional two months of ineligibility.

Kyrgios will also forfeit the prize money and ranking points he earned at the Mallorca tournament, where he lost in the first round to fellow Australian Adam Walton.

Kyrgios' Return To Tennis

The suspension comes at a particularly challenging stage of Kyrgios' career. The former world No. 13 has struggled with knee and wrist problems in recent years and played only four official ATP singles matches during the 2026 season before the ban.

Kyrgios reached the Wimbledon final in 2022 and has won seven ATP singles titles. However, his ranking has fallen sharply amid his injury struggles and limited competitive appearances.

After his provisional suspension became public, Kyrgios acknowledged the positive test and described the incident as a "huge mistake", while taking responsibility for his actions.

With the one-month suspension now served and his treatment programme underway, Kyrgios is eligible to resume his tennis career from September 4.