The whole system is cooked

Nick Kyrgios gave his thoughts on fellow Aussie Max Purcell receiving an 18-month doping suspension from ITIA on Wednesday (April 30). Kyrgios took umbrage at the entire tennis “system,” inferring through his remark that the ambiguity in the anti-doping guidelines was laughable.

Kyrgios has been a staunch critic of doping in tennis since Jannik Sinner’s failed tests for the banned substance Clostebol were made public by ITIA last year. The 29-year-old subsequently didn’t miss a beat in criticizing the Italian on his social media handle after the anti-doping agency cleared him of any wrongdoing. During this time, he also directed his ire towards Iga Swiatek, who had tested positive for Trimetazidine last September and accepted a nearly one-month-long provisional ban.

Earlier on Tuesday, April 29, the news of Max Purcell receiving a doping ban of 18 months for taking multiple IV infusions of vitamins, exceeding the permissible 100ml in December 2023, hit the tennis universe. According to ITIA’s statement, while Purcell hadn’t taken a “Prohibited Substance” (as was the case for Sinner and Swiatek), he had employed a “Use of a Prohibited Method.”

This discrepancy from the anti-doping agency seemingly upset Nick Kyrgios, going by his latest post on X on Wednesday, April 30. The former World No. 13 called the decision to ban the 2024 US Open doubles champion “ridiculous” while also taking potshots at ITIA.

“So honest feelings about how ridiculous Purcell’s ban is? Vitamins? Can we justify this? Or can we just admit now that the whole system is cooked,” Nick Kyrgios wrote on X on Wednesday.

Kyrgios had also expressed his views on Max Purcell’s ban on his Instagram stories on Tuesday.

Nick Kyrgios expresses dismay at Max Purcell being handed an 18-month doping ban: “Sad sad sad stuff”

Nick Kyrgios reposted a report from Fox Sports on his Instagram handle when the decision against Purcell came out on Tuesday. Going by the caption of his story, the Aussie rued the sad state of affairs in pro tennis at the moment.

“Sad sad sad stuff,” Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram story on Wednesday.

Kyrgios, meanwhile, made his much-awaited comeback to the ATP Tour earlier this year, after having been out of action for two years due to knee and wrist surgeries. The 29-year-old hasn’t played competitively since losing in the second round of the Miami Open to Karen Khachanov.

However, if his Instagram stories are any indication, Kyrgios is gearing up for a tour-level appearance soon.