Nick Kyrgios’ wild ‘impossible’ claim about pyramids in wide-ranging Louis Theroux podcast interview

Nick Kyrgios has said he believes it is “impossible” that the pyramids were built by humans and questions whether the Earth is flat, in a surprising and wide-ranging interview with British TV presenter Louis Theroux.

Warning: Readers should be aware that this story contains examples of self-harm.

The former Australian tennis number one said it was “madness” to suggest people could build pyramids with incredible back-and-forth movements. Theroux on his podcast of the same name.

However, the 29-year-old has also spoken candidly about his ongoing struggles with his mental health and why he has trouble playing for Australia.

Kyrgios did not play a single singles match on the ATP Tour this year, and played only one match in 2023, defeating China’s Yibing Wu in straight sets.

Knee and wrist injuries have crippled the former world number 13 and Wimbledon finalist, overshadowing a talent that seemed destined to bring the controversial character huge success.

He said he worked “10 times harder than most people” to get where he is in the sport.

Kyrgios has his sights set on returning to action at the Australian Open but told Theroux there were conditions for his return.

“I could come back now and beat 50 percent of the players,” Kyrgios said.

“But I don’t want to do that… Because my fans deserve the best version of myself that I am on the court right now.

“I don’t want to just participate.”

Andy Murray’s struggles ‘just not worth it’

Kyrgios points to his long-time rivals Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray as examples of how not to procrastinate.

Murray, who retired after the Paris Olympics after a career in which he won three Grand Slam singles titles, two Olympic gold medals and a Davis Cup, extended his career after hip surgery in 2019, which he believed could end his career.

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Nadal has said he will retire later this year but will not compete from 2022.

“I look at the way Andy Murray does it now and the way Rafael goes, I don’t want to be like that either,” Kyrgios said.

“In a way, I don’t want to crawl to the finish line.

“What Andy Murray has achieved in this sport is essentially unmatched unless you are Novak (Djokovic), (Roger) Federer or Nadal.

“For example, the next person is Andy Murray.

“As if you’ve achieved everything, you deserve to leave, I think, a little more gracefully than he did.

“I think the surgeries and the pain are not worth it in my opinion.”

Even though Kyrgios has said he wants to return, he is under no illusions that the expectations that have dogged him throughout his career – and the pressure that comes with it – will immediately come crashing down on him.

“I know the world won’t be kind to me when I come back, they’ll suddenly forget I’ve been out for a year and a half with injuries,” he said.

“They’ll just think that all the expectations are going back to Nick Kyrgios. So when he loses, it’s not good.”

Kyrgios spoke about the “dark times” in his life

That pressure has paid off, with Kyrgios speaking candidly about the depression he suffered from throughout his career.

“I just struggled with who I was,” Kyrgios said.

“It was tough at the time and I didn’t feel like I could take a step back from the sport and work on myself and get into the right state.

“I just played and played and played and kind of dealt with everything.

“And it was a dark time. It was like I was drinking, losing control and continuing to play and travel. It was a lot.”

He told Theroux that he used to “drink like a fish” and have “20-30 drinks” before playing the next day, claiming he would give Nadal “a good run for his money”.

During this “troubled” period of his life, Kyrgios witnessed self-harm, wearing long sleeves to continue playing unnoticed, although he noted that former UK world number one Murray noticed this and asked him about it.

“It was terrible. I mean, I almost liked feeling that way—and that’s when I realized I needed to get rid of it,” Kyrgios said.

He said he spent time at the clinic, but only for one night, as he was scheduled to play Rafael Nadal the next day.

Kyrgios said that even now he is not in the best condition.

“I struggle with this most days. For example, I don’t wake up feeling amazing… I feel like I now know how to get rid of bad thoughts,” he said.

“I feel like I can go back to these habits in an instant. This is how it feels.

“I feel like I can do these things, but I don’t want to. As before, I had no resistance. I don’t want to do this now.”

“The most racist thing I’ve ever heard in my life”

Kyrgios has not played for Australia in the Davis Cup since 2019, although he has competed in other team tournaments such as the Laver Cup and ATP Cup.

Most notably, he turned down the opportunity to play in the Davis Cup under Lleyton Hewitt in 2022, opting instead to play an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, the Diriyah Tennis Cup.

Kyrgios has come under fire for this, with suggestions being made that he is more content with lining his pockets than representing his country.

But he said the problem went deeper, noting Australia’s problem with racism.

“One of our sports legends told me and my family to go back to where we came from,” Kyrgios said, with Theroux noting that person was Olympic swimming legend Dawn Fraser.

Fraser made the comment on Channel Nine in 2015 after many believed Kyrgios had “failed” during his Wimbledon defeat to Richard Gasquet, calling the Australian a “disgrace”.

Fraser apologized after Kyrgios called her a “blatant racist”.

“This may be the most racist thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Of course racism (in Australia) exists,” Kyrgios said.

“How will I represent a country that one of our greatest sporting ambassadors tells you so about?”

“You’re crazy”

Besides the very serious nature of the conversation, Kyrgios mused about conspiracy theories.

He argued with Theroux that the prospect of people moving large blocks of stone over logs was “madness.”

“How is it possible that they got all the measurements right and everything is aligned?” – Kyrgios said.

“And they did it by rolling big rocks over logs—it’s crazy.

“Why are the doors so big? For example, who needs to go through doors if they are so big?

“I don’t know who it was. I just don’t think we were capable of it.

“It’s 2024 and we can’t even get along with each other. And you think we built the pyramids? You are crazy. This is crazy.”

He added that he had “thoughts” about landing on the moon and refused to say that the Earth was round.

“I would probably be inclined to say it’s round, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it was something else,” he said.