Nick Kyrgios reveals Wimbledon fate and casts huge doubts over his tennis future
Nick Kyrgios declared he was looking forward to his return to action at Wimbledon, but all that ended on Sunday evening in London as he confirmed he withdrew from The Championships.
The Australian, who was beaten in last year’s final by Novak Djokovic, had earlier conceded there were “some question marks” over his participation as he continues to recover from a wrist injury.
Now the news his supporters have been dreading has been confirmed, with Kyrgios issuing a statement to confirm he is out of his favorite event.
“I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year,” he said.
“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.
“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.”
Kyrgios had been scheduled to begin his campaign against Belgian former quarter-finalist David Goffin on Court One on Monday.
The 28-year-old has been unable to build on his sole grand slam final appearance after withdrawing from the Australian Open in January due to a knee injury that required surgery.
He had played only one match since, a defeat to Wu Yibing in Stuttgart last month, and admitted during his pre-tournament media rounds on Sunday that he was “almost dreading” his return.
“I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis,” Kyrgios had said. “I feel probably as good as I could feel at the moment.”
While it is too early to suggest this could be a nail in the career of one of the sport’s most colourful characters, this news will leave a big cloud hanging over the future of the 28-year-old.
Kyrgios has played just one match in 2023, losing to China’s Yibing Wu in a grass court event in Stuttgart last month.
He has been striving to ensure he is ready to play at Wimbledon for the last few months, but the wrist problem that has halted his progress over the course of this year continues to trouble him.
Wrist problems are notoriously worrying for tennis players and after practicing a Wimbledon with a strapping on the problem joint, he clearly feels he is not ready to take his place in the draw.
In an interview with Australian TV network 9News, Kyrgios also suggested he may be looking to focus on life away from the court as he hinted he was ready to start a family with his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi.
Kyrgios has been at Wimbledon with his young nephew in recent days and it seems he might be looking to a new chapter of his story off the court.
“Kids are great. It may not be long until I have one of my own one day,” he declared.
Have we seen the last of Nick Kyrgios on a tennis court?
It remains to be seen where his motivation is to keep battling injury problems, but there is no doubt he will be a big loss from this year’s Wimbledon draw.
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