(London) Nick Kyrgios has expressed his gratitude to Andy Murray for spotting the signs of self-destruction he suffered during a “dark” period in his life as a tennis star, marked by an “addiction to pain”, he said. -he said in an interview broadcast on Friday.
“Andy has always been a great support to me,” the former world number 13 player said on the TalkTV show hosted by British presenter Piers Morgan.
“As soon as I arrived on the circuit, he saw my potential and took me under his wing. Later in my career, he realized that I thought I wasn’t ‘trainable’ or that I was isolated, but he was always there to look out for me,” explained the Australian, now aged 28 years old.
Kyrgios, who has only played one match in 2023, has previously opened up about the mental health issues he has suffered in recent years and revealed in a Netflix documentary that he had spent time in a hospital psychiatric after a defeat at Wimbledon in 2019.
To Piers Morgan, he told that Murray had spotted his scarifications. “He saw them and said, ‘What’s that on your arm?’ It was pretty serious at that point. I would find myself in the locker room and people could see my self-harm […] They must have thought, ‘Wow, this guy is having a mental storm and he’s still trying to play’.
“Andy was obviously trying to give me advice. But I was so stuck in my ways at the time that I didn’t listen. I’m obviously very grateful to him, I thank him a lot,” Kyrgios added.
Last year, the Australian player’s mother said Murray spotted the signs of self-harm in her son before her.
During the interview, Kyrgios, who is no longer ranked in the ATP, returned to the extent of the self-harm he inflicted on himself, even when he was successful on the ATP circuit.
“I spent a year and a half or two hurting myself. It was pretty grim… I won tournaments on the professional circuit by drinking every night, self-harming, burning my arm, cutting myself for fun. It had become an addiction to pain. I hated myself. I hated waking up and being Nick Kyrgios,” he recalled.
Since publicly revealing his mental health issues, the Australian has been contacted by people suffering from similar conditions on social media. Helping them, he said, is the “most powerful thing” he’s done in his career.
“It makes a real difference and I’m really, really proud of it,” said the 2022 Wimbledon finalist.
