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Nick Kyrgios has hit out at the 'disgusting' state of tennis with the sport's male and female world number ones both involved in doping scandals.
Both Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have faced doping charges in the past year, which Kyrgios was vocal about during a press conference for the Brisbane International.
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The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) recently levelled the charges for Sinner and Swiatek, with Italian Sinner avoiding a ban despite testing positive on two occasions for an anabolic steroid in March.
The ITIA determined that the world number one was not to blame after he argued that it was his physiotherapist contaminating him with clostebol through a cut on his hand.
Polish star Swiatek faced a one-month suspension later in the year in September after she tested positive for trimetazidine.
Kyrgios was vocal on social media on both occasions when the news was announced.
“Two world No.1s both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport - it’s a horrible look,” Kyrgios said at the Brisbane International press conference.
"I just think that it's been handled horrifically in our sport. Tennis' integrity right now, and everyone knows it but no one wants to speak about it, it’s awful.”
Preparing for his long-awaited return to the sport after wrist and knee injuries, Kyrgios has not played at a tournament since the Stuttgart Open in June 2023.
The Brisbane International will be his first tournament since then and he anticipates it to prepare him for the Australian Open in January.
“I would never even in my entire life ever try and dope in this sport,” he said at the press conference.
“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.
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“There’s so many things out there that are prohibited in our sport that I could have been doing to get me back quicker. That’s just not who I am. I’m always against that.”
He continued: “I [pay] my team hundreds and thousands of dollars to be the professionals they are, to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“So they knew it happened. Why did they wait five to six months to do anything about it? He kept his team for five months, that doesn’t make sense.”
Kyrgios begins his Brisbane campaign against France's Giovanni Perricard, and he will play doubles with Novak Djokovic.
He won the Brisbane International in 2018 but has never won the Australian Open, nor reached the final, unlike doubles partner Djokovic who has won a record ten titles at the competition.
It will also mark the start of Andy Murray and Djokovic's coaching partnership, with the Serbian entering the Brisbane international as the No.1 seeded player.
