Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed little surprise following the announcement that Australian player Nick Kyrgios had been suspended after testing positive for cocaine earlier this month. The suspension came after Kyrgios disclosed on August 19 via social media that he had failed a drug test, calling it “a huge mistake.”

Tsitsipas, speaking after his first-round victory at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, indicated that he had been aware of Kyrgios’ off-court issues for some time. “I knew that those were things that were happening away from the tennis courts,” Tsitsipas said. “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 behaviors that I personally heard on the tour and heard other people in that same environment saying those sort of things to me.”

He further expressed surprise that the suspension took so long to be announced. “When I saw [the suspension], I was, like, well, pretty much expected, to be honest. I am surprised it came so late, though.”

Tsitsipas and Kyrgios have a longstanding and publicly noted rivalry that dates back to their meeting at Wimbledon in 2022. The candid remarks from Tsitsipas appeared to underscore the tension between the two players.

Kyrgios has acknowledged the positive cocaine test but framed it as an isolated lapse in judgment. The tennis community and governing bodies are closely watching developments as the disciplinary proceedings unfold.