Stefanos Tsitsipas has claimed he knew about Nick Kyrgios’ alleged off-court behaviour before the Australian tested positive for cocaine.
Kyrgios has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency following a positive test at the Mallorca Championships in June.
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The former world No 13 has accepted responsibility for what happened, describing the incident as a “huge mistake” in a statement published on social media.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, also promised to “do the work and come back better” as he awaits the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The Australian could potentially receive a ban of up to four years, although the eventual punishment will depend on the circumstances established during the investigation.
Tsitsipas was asked about Kyrgios following his first-round victory over Arthur Fils at the US Open.
The Greek initially paused for several seconds before delivering a remarkably candid response that suggested he had not been surprised by the announcement.
“I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, to be entirely honest with you, I knew about this before the announcement. Myself, I knew about it,” Tsitsipas said.
“So what can I tell you? I will just tell you the truth.
“I knew about all of this before any announcement was made, and when I saw it on social media, I was, like, ‘here we go’. I kind of expected it, to be honest.”
Tsitsipas was then pressed on exactly what he had known before news of Kyrgios’ positive test became public.
While he did not claim to have direct knowledge of the test itself, the former French Open finalist alleged he had heard reports concerning Kyrgios’ behaviour away from competition.
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“I knew that those were things that were happening away from the tennis courts, I will tell you that,” he continued.
“I’m not going to try and cover up someone that I know the truth for.
“I’ll consider myself a nice person with everyone, but these were behaviours that I personally heard on the tour and heard other people in that same environment saying those sort of things to me.
“Again, when I saw it, I was like, well, pretty much expected to be honest. I am surprised it came so late though.”
Tsitsipas did not provide evidence or further details to substantiate his claims, which were based on what he said he had heard from others on the tennis circuit.
The case has attracted additional attention because Kyrgios previously criticised Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep following their respective anti-doping controversies.
He repeatedly expressed strong opinions about those cases on social media, calling for tennis authorities to adopt a tough approach towards players who return positive tests.
Kyrgios now finds himself facing an uncertain future as the integrity agency considers his own case.
Tsitsipas, meanwhile, is now through to the second round of the US Open.
The 28-year-old remains on the hunt for a first Grand Slam title, having previously reached two finals.
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