Nick Kyrgios retirement rumours swirl again as his latest comeback is abandoned
It’s time for Nick Kyrgios to accept that his time as a tennis player is at an end.
Kyrgios has made more comeback attempts than an ageing rock band in recent years, with plans to play at the Australian Open, French Open and at Wimbledon all called off a few days before the tournament.
Now he has taken the decision to enter the US Open using a protected ranking and was even included in the men’s singles draw before he was forced to pull out of the tournament.
Withdrawing from a Grand Slam event with a long-standing injury after the draw has been made is frowned upon, as it forces players who could have gained entry to the draw to play in qualifying.
The chances of Kyrgios playing in New York always looked remote as he continues to battle with wrist and knee problems, but he made the call to enter the draw and then pull out the following day.
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Kyrgios played at the Indian Wells Masters in March, but he was forced to pull out of his match against Botic van de Zandschulp mid-way through the second set.
He then beat Mackenzie McDonald in Miami to record his first ATP Tour win since the 2022 Tokyo Open, but he was beaten by Karen Khachanov in his second match and has not been seen on competitive singles action since then.
Kyrgios has made several suggestions that his tennis career is coming to an end, but he will get no respect for allowing his name to be entered into the US Open draw only for him to pull out a day later.
So the time must have come for Kyrgios to be honest with himself and the tennis world over what needs to happen next.
There is no doubt that this polarising athlete has contributed a lot to a sport that has often struggled to understand how to handle him, with his brash and outspoken comments creating as many headlines as his play on the court.
Knowing when to walk away is never easy, but Kyrgios has admitted his time is coming when he spoke to The Age in March.
“I’m at a crossroads in my career and have reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me,” he said.
“It’s why my manager brought it up. He said, ‘This could be you from now on if you want it to be’.
“I could travel the world making really good money commentating on the sport, doing things like I am now with my talk show interviewing guys like Gordon Ramsay and Mike Tyson.
“That’s a life people wish they had. Even the players on the circuit would love to be doing what I am doing now, but they have a different way of thinking.”
Kyrgios also said in the interview that “there is a part of me that knows my time in the sport may be over. And I’m okay with that”.
There is no doubt that Kyrgios would like to have a future as a tennis player, but he would not be much more useful to the sport as a contributor off the court and this latest decision should end the debate over what needs to happen next.
