Polarising Australian Nick Kyrgios Sunday admitted to be being in a “lonely, dark place” during recent years as he battled depression spark...
Polarising Australian Nick Kyrgios Sunday admitted to be being in a “lonely, dark place” during recent years as he battled depression sparked by the relentless grind of the tennis tour.
The temperamental star is one of the sport’s biggest drawcards, but has also faced intense criticism for his combustible antics on court, with a long list of misdemeanours to his name.
They include an explosive racquet-smashing and expletive-ridden meltdown at last year’s Cincinnati Masters that saw him put on probation by the ATP and ordered to seek professional help.
“I don’t think people understand how lonely tennis can be,” he told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph magazine.
“You’re out there on the court on your own. You can’t really talk to anyone. You have to figure things out for yourself. I did struggle with that.”
Kyrgios said he had always been emotional and found it tough spending so long away from his Canberra home and family while on tour, admitting there were times when he was “seriously depressed”.
“I remember waking up in Shanghai one year and it was 4pm and I was still in bed, curtains closed. I didn’t want to see the light of day,” he said.
“I felt like no one wanted to know me as a person, they just wanted to get...
