"It was a scary time" - Nick Kyrgios recalls undergoing therapy for mental health struggles before playing Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2019 

Nick Kyrgios recently reminisced about undergoing mental health therapy in London, a day before he he was slated to play Rafael Nadal at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

The tie was their second-round match, which turned out to be a four-set cracker with scores of 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in the Spaniard's favor.

Nick Kyrgios' mental health struggles became public when the second season of the Netflix docu-series "Breakpoint" was released in June 2023. He shared how he had suicidal thoughts, prompting him to seek help and spend time in the psychiatric ward in London.

In a recent episode of the "What Now? With Trevor Noah" podcast, hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah, Nick Kyrgios recounted the experience and stated that it was a challenging time for him because he had to play Rafael Nadal the next day.

“I've seen a lot of psychologists, and I went to this kind of psychological rehab place in London. In 2019, when I went there seeking help, it was a scary time because I had to play Nadal the next day.” - Krygios said (56:30)

Since his mental health struggles in 2019, Kyrgios has won the 2022 Australian Open doubles title alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. He reached the final of the men's singles at the 2022 Wimbledon and achieved a quarterfinal finish at the US Open in 2022.

“No matter what I do, people really won't care about things I've got off the court,” - Nick Kyrgios

Previews: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023 Nick Kyrgios

In that same interview, Kyrgios mentioned that despite doctors recommending a week or two in the hospital, he insisted on leaving to play against Nadal.

He also realized that people may not care about personal struggles, which prompted him to navigate through his mental challenges independently.

“They said, "You should stay here for like a week or two." I replied, "I can't really do that because I got to play Nadal the next day," and that was when it was a big wake-up call for me. I thought, "I need to drive myself out of this period because, no matter what I do, people really won't care about things I've got off the court,” Nick Krygios said (57:00)

Nick Krygios missed a majority of the 2023 season due to a knee injury that required surgery. He is set to return to the sport during the 2024 grass season. Before that, he will be on commentary duty with Eurosport at the 2024 edition of the Australian Open coming up in a few days.