Nick Kyrgios drops brutally honest retirement hint after ‘heartbreaking’ Australian Open defeat

Nick Kyrgios cast doubt over his tennis future and hinted at retirement after his injury-hit defeat in the opening round of the 2025 Australian Open.
The Australian fell to a 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-7(2) loss to 23-year-old Brit Jacob Fearnley, the world No 92, in his first Grand Slam match since the 2022 US Open.
Kyrgios made his comeback from wrist surgery at the Brisbane International having played just one match since October 2022, which came in Stuttgart in June 2023.
Against Fearnley, the 29-year-old was hampered by an abdominal injury he suffered while preparing for the Melbourne major.
In his press conference, a disappointed Kyrgios admitted he does not think he will play another singles match at his home Grand Slam.
“I mean, realistically, I can’t really see myself probably playing singles again here,” the unranked Aussie said.
“It was special. Look, I knew that I have doubles, so I kind of was taking everything in tonight in those moments. It was nuts.
“I didn’t want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire. I was hurting physically. I respect my opponent. The fans waited hours to come see me play.
“Realistically, I can’t see myself playing a singles match here again. I mean, Nick Kyrgios without his serve, I’m probably not a threat to many players.
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“All the niggles, I guess my body compensating with the wrist is tough, but, yeah, it’s just not enjoyable for me.
“It’s not enjoyable to go out there and not think tactically and not think I’m enjoying the atmosphere, or where am I going to hit this ball.
“It’s like, ‘what am I doing to manage my body? This is painful. OK, I can’t do this because this hurts.’ That’s not tennis to me, that’s not sport.
“I go out there tonight, and I’m I’d say probably 70, 65% of my capacity, and for them to really see me fighting and still giving me that energy, it meant a lot.
“I feel like I’ve given a lot of my life to tennis, and I’ve tried to give them a show every time I go out there. And I know I didn’t do a great job tonight, but there were moments that were special to me that I won’t forget.”
Kyrgios, a Wimbledon finalist in 2022, revealed that playing at the All England Club this year remains a major goal.
“Obviously Wimbledon is a big one for me,” he added. “I still feel like obviously, if I don’t have an abdominal strain… I feel when I sustained that five days before a Grand Slam, it’s not ideal.
“Hopefully, if my body’s feeling good, I’ll be able to make some noise at Wimbledon. Right now, the doubles, I’ll rest. Yeah, it’s just disappointing because I put in so much work.
“I knew tonight was going to be tough. With my physical state going into the match, I knew that I was going to be really hindered with my serve.
“But just seeing the fans line up for four, five hours, just the amount of people that were there supporting me, it was hard to kind of throw the towel in. Would have been really easy to kind of just roll over.
“I tried to do the best I could with the state I was in physically. Obviously heartbreaking because, yeah, I obviously wanted to play well. I feel like my level’s there.”
The former world No 13 is still due to play in the doubles event with close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the Australian Open doubles title in 2022.