Kyrgios’ mother reveals Andy Murray saved her son’s life
Norlaila Kyrgios said that her son has self-harmed on several occasions and that Murray was one of the few people who reached out to try to help him.
Nick Kyrgios became one of Wimbledon’s revelations after reaching his first Grand Slam final of his career at the weekend. His opponent, Novak Djokovic proved too strong for him on the day and clinched his seventh Wimbledon crown but Kyrgios can feel proud for the performance he put in at the All England Club. However, his attitude out on court throughout his career has been a constant issue.
Kyrgios revealed one of the darkest episodes of his life during an interview for ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, where he confessed that his problems with alcohol and drugs caused havoc on every level - personal, family and in his chosen profession. “I was abusing alcohol a lot, drugs and that spiralled out of control. Now, I barely drink – I literally have a glass of wine at dinner. That was the initial kind of thing I had to clean up a little bit and then build my relationship back with my family and get into healthier habits like the basics; like diet, getting good sleep, trying to train a little bit more and that was it. I think Covid helped me a lot with that”, he explained.
The importance of Andy Murray
The Australian assured that his family and close friends were unaware of the mental disorder he was suffering from, since he initially tried to deal with his problems on his own. “It was very serious, to the point of self-harm and it’s not OK. I guess I pushed everyone that cared about me away and I wasn’t communicating, and I just shut down real life and I was trying to handle and tackle my problems head-on.”
Fellow tennis player, Andy Murray was the only one of his peers who was concerned about Kyrgios’ health. Murray was the one who made Kyrgios’ entourage aware of what the tennis player was suffering from, as revealed by the Australian’s mother, Norlaila Nill, in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The self-harming ... I saw that and people told me that,” Nill Kyrgios explained, ”I asked him about it and he didn’t want to talk about it at that time. John [Morris, the player’s former manager] spoke to me that Andy [Murray] is worried about Nick because he can see some evidence of self-harm ... And I blame others for that. For just pressuring him, criticising him. Even people we thought might be supporting him”. By drawing attention to Kyrgios’ issues, Murray was able to help him and make his family aware that he needed their support.
Understandably, Nick’s mum Nill is more concerned that anyone with the barrage of criticism Kyrgios has been subjected to and how it affects him. She worries as she cannot always be close to her son due to health issues of her own. “That period was very hard. I just wanted to be next to him constantly so that I could see him. If I could see him I know he’s OK. And if I can’t see him I worry about him so much that it becomes very difficult. I’m happy that he’s come out well the other end. You just don’t know what pressure does to people. It’s worrying for a parent,” she concluded.