Kei Nishikori on his emotional ATP return: ‘I’m just so happy to be back’

Nearly two full years after his last top-level appearance, Kei Nishikori made an emotional comeback as he tasted victory on the ATP Tour again with a win at the Atlanta Open.

When Nishikori lost in the second round of the Indian Wells Open in October 2021, he could not have imagined the battle he would face over the next 21 months as he struggled with injury and at one point feared he would not return to the top.

Having missed the bulk of the 2020 campaign due to injury, the Japanese star looked like he had found his way back to the top the following year before missing the final few months of the 2021 season again.

In January 2022 he announced that he would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left hip and was likely to miss up to six months. However, he ended up missing the entire season as he suffered a setback with an ankle injury.

The 2014 US Open runner-up then took tentative comeback steps at the start of 2023 as he played on the ATP Challenger Tour, but it would take him until July to finally compete on the ATP Tour again.

And it was a happy return as he defeated Australia’s Jordan Thompson 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).

“It was very emotional after everything that it took to get back,” the 33-year-old told the official ATP Tour website. “I’m just so happy to be back here playing. I have zero pressure and can play free. I’m just having fun on the court. And I’m excited to be playing against the top guys again.

“I have had a good team around me and I’m very thankful that [coaches] Max [Mirnyi] and Michael [Chang] kept encouraging me. They still believe in me and I believe it too.”

As for the past year and a bit on the sidelines, the former world no 4 admitted he contemplated retirement.

“After eight or nine months of rehab after the hip surgery I was almost ready to come back when I sprained my ankle,” he revealed. “It turned out to be complicated and much worse than what I first saw. That set me back another four or five months.

“Once or twice I almost thought [about retiring]. It was mentally shocking to be so close and then to have a second injury. I wasn’t sure if I could come back from that. So that was the toughest time.”

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