Nick Kyrgios Reveals How Defeat to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon Landed Him in a Psych Ward: “I Couldn’t Deal With It”

Australian tennis sensation Nick Kyrgios has been around the ATP Tour since a decade and has made a name for himself as a special talent, who remains largely a maverick at heart. Kyrgios could widely be considered as one player who polarizes opinions like none other.

While his flamboyant style of play has won him many admirers and is great for box office and broadcasters alike, another section of the tennis world has criticized him for his inconsistency and temperament that hasn’t helped him live up to his potential yet. As the spotlight has always been on him, Nick Kyrgios recently talked about one of his major life secrets on Season 2 of Netflix’s Break Point.

Nick Kyrgios throws up a bombshell ahead of Wimbledon 2023
There’s always been something about Kyrgios and the Wimbledon Championships.

Add the mighty Rafael Nadal in the mix and there’s a huge share of history they share. In fact, it was in 2014 when he first gained recognition on the ATP circuit for having beaten Nadal in the Round of 16.

Interestingly, Nick Kyrgios shares the same win percentage as Roger Federer against Nadal, i.e., 40 when it comes to head-to-head stats.

However, in one of the episodes of Break Point, Kyrgios admitted that Nadal beating him in the third round of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships was so crushing for him mentally that he briefly considered committing suicide. In order to prevent disaster, he was admitted to a psychiatric ward in London.

Bro, it happens in everything! Don’t be hard on yourself! Be positive you’ll be back ???????????? https://t.co/UkmIIRlsfa

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 11, 2023

Nick Kyrgios was quoted as saying,

“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: ‘OK, I can’t keep doing this.’

“I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems. 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. That pressure, having that all-eyes-on-you expectation, I couldn’t deal with it. I hated the kind of person I was.”

Rafael Nadal gets special mention in ‘GOAT’ debate from Kyrgios
Over the years, Nick Kyrgios has been known to be an ardent Roger Federer enthusiast, having only beaten him once in 7 meetings. However, if both Season 1 and Season 2 of Break Point is to go by, Kyrgios seems to have changed his opinion on the perennial question – ‘Who is the Greatest of All Time in men’s singles tennis?’.

Hahaha now it gets ridiculous. The ????having some fun and the ball kids are catching it, making their life memory compared to outeide doubles match. Absurd ???? https://t.co/g9RPjJBo85

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 5, 2023

The Australian was in awe of Rafael Nadal’s ability to handle external pressures and bouncing back from injuries successfully so often. He was also shown to be completely blown away by Nadal’s Wimbledon 2022 quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz, in which the Spaniard bounced back from 2 sets to 1 down to win in a physically grueling clash.

Incidentally, Nadal was to then play Kyrgios himself in the semi-final, but withdrew due to suffering from an abdominal injury. This allowed Kyrgios to enter the Final for the first time, only to lose to Novak Djokovic.

Nick Kyrgios recently lost on his grass court comeback at Stuttgart Open recently, complaining of a sore knee but believes he is set to play in the Wimbledon 2023 Championships, starting July 3.