The Australian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Nick Kyrgios would discuss his time in a mental hospital following his Wimbledon defeat in upcoming episodes of a Netflix documentary.
Rafael Nadal eliminated the 28-year-old in the second round of the championships that year, while the 28-year-old himself wore a white sleeve to conceal his right arm.
The documentary Break Point will air an episode featuring Nick Kyrgios who says, “I was genuinely considering if I wanted to commit suicide,” according to the newspaper.
“I lost at Wimbledon. I woke up and my dad was sitting on the bed, full-blown crying. That was the big wake-up call for me. I was like, okay, I can’t keep doing this. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.”
Instagram post
Kyrgios wrote a lengthy Instagram post in February last year about his mental health struggles, at the end of which he said he was in a much better place.
“I’m proud to say I’ve completely turned myself around and have a completely different outlook on everything, I don’t take one moment for granted,” he wrote.
“I want you to be able to reach your full potential and smile. This life is beautiful.”
The Break Point episodes chronicle Kyrgios’s run to last year’s Wimbledon final with the highlight of his career so far prompting recollections of the 2019 nadir.
“That pressure, having that all-eyes-on-you expectation, I couldn’t deal with it. I hated the kind of person I was,” he says.
“I was drinking, abusing drugs, lost my relationship with my family, pushed all my close friends away.
“You could tell I was hurting. My whole arm was covered in scars. That’s why I actually got my arm sleeve. To cover it all.”
Kyrgios’s career renaissance was interrupted around the turn of the year by a knee injury. He returned to action on Tuesday but lost his opening match at the Stuttgart Open.