"If I was taking similar things to be banned for 4 years, I'd have 5 Slams" - Nick Kyrgios on Simona Halep's doping ban

Nick Kyrgios recently caused a bit of a stir on social media with his comments on Simona Halep's doping ban.

On Wednesday (September 14), Kyrgios had raised objections to Maria Sakkari's concerns regarding the strict doping protocols. Sakkari was talking in light of Halep's four-year ban from the sport due to two separate doping violations.

The Greek said she was anxious at the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cracking down on several players recently. She also suggested there would perhaps come a day when players wouldn't even be allowed to consume electrolyte products.

Nick Kyrgios responded to Maria Sakkari by saying tennis players were better off not taking such substances, while also mentioning his own diet. He wrote:

"I run on bananas and coke cola in 5 set battles. And my record in them speaks for itself. Maybe players should just stop taking shady sh*t. Look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say yep I did it right. Not hard."

When a fan questioned the 28-year-old on his so-called "record," Nick Kyrgios replied that if he were to ingest the banned substance that led to Halep's ban, he would've won five Major titles. He also added an insulting word - 'potato' - at the end of his tweet.

"I’d imagine if I was taking similar things to be banned for 4 years I’d have about 5 slams. Potato," Nick Kyrgios wrote in reply to the fan.

One fan, however, took offense to Kyrgios' reply. They asserted that not only did Simona Halep take the substance unknowingly, but the amount that she had ingested wouldn't enhance her athletic performance.

Kyrgios disagreed with them though, and suggested that the ITIA had enough reason to serve Halep with a four-year ban.

"Ok so why did she get banned for 4 years then?" he asked rhetorically.

Nick Kyrgios is eyeing a return to professional tennis soon, provided his injury rehabilitation goes according to plan

Nick Kyrgios waves to his fans at 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Nick Kyrgios is currently rehabilitating a serious injury that forced him to withdraw from the 2023 US Open. The Aussie has had a tough time in terms of his physical conditioning lately, having to repeatedly deal with injuries.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist injured his knee in late 2022, and underwent arthroscopic surgery to rectify the issue earlier this year. The rehabilitation process, however, forced him to sit out for a large part of the season.

Kyrgios did make a return to the ATP tour at the 2023 Stuttgart Open in July, losing to China's Yibing Wu in the first round. The Aussie hasn't played since then, but has expressed his intentions to make a comeback to the top rungs of tennis soon.

"To my millions of fans out there, I guess we just have to be patient. Trust me, I still have some fire left in the tank, my body just needs time to recover and get back. Everything off-court is doing great lam eyeing to come back and have a season like my last again," he wrote on his Instagram stories last month.