Nick Kyrgios cleared to return to action after cocaine ban

The Australian will be eligible to compete from September 4 onwards

Nick Kyrgios is free to play tennis again. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed on September 3 that his cocaine use around the ATP 250 event in Mallorca was for social purposes and not linked to the competition, thereby confirming that his one-month suspension officially ended on September 3.

The case began in June, when the former Wimbledon finalist provided a sample at the Mallorca event that came back positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Cocaine is banned during competition in tennis, and had the test proved that the cocaine use took place during the competition, then the matter would have escalated, as Kyrgios could have faced up to a four-year ban.

Kyrgios told ITIA investigators the truth was simpler than that. He had used the drug during a night out a few days before he was due to play, not while he was competing.

The ITIA did not just take his word for it. It brought in an independent scientific expert from a WADA-accredited lab, who reviewed the level of cocaine in his sample and found it lined up with Kyrgios’ explanation of social use before the tournament rather than anything tied to performance. That distinction mattered enormously.

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It is the reason his default three-month ban was reduced to one month, on the condition that he commit to an ITIA-approved treatment program, which Kyrgios has now completed. His provisional suspension had started on August 4. He will lose the prize money and ranking points he earned from that Mallorca run, in which he reached the Round of 32.

Since it is confirmed to be unrelated to performance enhancement, the punishment falling at the lighter end feels like a fair outcome rather than a loophole. Kyrgios had already addressed it publicly back in August, posting on Instagram that he had made “a huge mistake” and apologising to his fans, family and sponsors.

Based on this judgement, Kyrgios can return to tennis action immediately. However, he has struggled to stay on court in recent years because of ongoing knee and wrist injuries, playing only a handful of tournaments over the past two seasons. It also remains to be seen how much he has been affected mentally by this case, which could further delay his return.

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