‘The decision was not taken lightly’ – injured Kei Nishikori withdraws from Australian Open

ATP Tour
Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from the Australian Open and the ATP Cup, revealing he is still not over his troublesome elbow injury.

Nishikori, who turned 30 on Sunday, has not played since the US Open in August and also admitted earlier in the year that the last time he played without pain was considerably earlier than that too.

“Unfortunately I have to pull out of the ATP Cup and the Aussie Open,” Nishikori said in a statement via his app.

“Today, together with my team, we have made this decision as I am still not 100 per cent ready or healthy to compete at the highest level.

“This decision was not taken lightly as Australia is one of my favourite places to compete,” he added.

Nishkori has over 600 points to defend in January, meaning his decision will carry consequences.

He is currently ranked 13th in the world, and the loss of those points will once again push him out of the top 20.

The Japanese star changed his coaching setup in November, and is focused on making sure he is completely pain-free in time for the Olympics in Tokyo this summer.

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Kei Nishikori

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