Published: 09:52 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 10:47 BST, 20 August 2026<\/p>\n
Former World No 1 tennis star Simona Halep has hit out at Nick Kyrgios following the Australian's positive cocaine test bombshell.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios, 31, revealed he has been provisionally suspended from the sport after he\u00a0submitted a sample while playing in Mallorca on June 22 that contained benzoylecgonine, a substance found in the class A drug.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios said he took 'full responsibility' for his mistake and was 'deeply disappointed' in himself.<\/p>\n
The Australian has been suspended since August 4, meaning he cannot play in, coach at, or attend any professional men's or women's tournament, including Grand Slams such as Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios has staunchly opposed drug use in tennis and has regularly taken aim at stars who have tested positive.<\/p>\n
He ruthlessly berated Halep while she served a ban for a doping violation in 2023, labelling her a 'potato'.<\/p>\n
Simona Halep has hit back at Nick Kyrgios following his positive cocaine test<\/p>\n
Australian tennis star Kyrgios publicly berated the former No 1 during her doping ban<\/p>\n
Halep took to social media on Wednesday and said: 'Never kick someone when they're down'<\/p>\n
'I'd imagine if I was taking similar things to be banned for 4 years, I'd have about 5 slams. Potato,' he wrote.<\/p>\n
'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 s***.<\/p>\n
'Look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say yep I did it right. Not hard.'<\/p>\n
Following Kyrgios' admission of cocaine use on Wednesday, Halep took to Instagram to have her say, sharing a photo of a bottle of coke and a bunch of bananas in a not-so-subtle dig at the Australian.<\/p>\n
She later posted:\u00a0'Never kick someone when they're down. Life has a strange way of changing positions and an even stranger way of revealing the difference between an accident and a choice.'<\/p>\n