Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios withdraws on the eve of the tournament
WIMBLEDON, England –
Nick Kyrgios pulled out of Wimbledon the night before the start of the tournament, citing a wrist injury, a year after reaching his first Grand Slam final at the All England Club.
His withdrawal was announced by Wimbledon on Sunday evening and Kyrgios wrote about it on social media.
He was seeded 30th among the men and was scheduled to face David Goffin on Monday. Kyrgios is replaced in the field by a player who lost in qualifying.
“I am very sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year. During my comeback I had some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had him scanned and he came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.”
He has played just one match all season, after withdrawing from the Australian Open in early 2023 due to an injured left knee that required arthroscopic surgery.
The 28-year-old Australian also missed the French Open, and now health issues will have forced him to sit out each of the first three majors of the year – the events with the big stages and bright lights he seems to enjoy most.
Hours before his withdrawal on Sunday, Kyrgios was asked at a pre-tournament press conference how his body was holding up and if he was ready for best-of-five-set competition at a Grand Slam tournament.
“I still think there are some question marks, sure,” he replied.
“I look at my preparations from last year – I probably had the most ideal preparation possible,” said Kyrgios. “It can’t be any different (anymore) this year.”
The only match he has participated in since October last year was an opening loss to Wu Yibing at the Stuttgart Open on June 13.
On Sunday, Kyrgios was asked if he has missed tennis during his nine-month absence.
“No, I don’t miss the sport at all, to be honest. I was almost dreading coming back a bit,” he said with a hint of a smile. “But it’s my job.”
A year ago at Wimbledon, Kyrgios engaged in his usual antics: he spat at a fan after one game; got into a contentious back and forth during a win against Stefanos Tsitsipas and a battle of words afterwards – while also handling a lawsuit back home in Australia. But he also played superbly, much better than might be suggested by his then No. 40 ranking or his failure to reach a major quarterfinal in 7 1/2 years to those two weeks.
He took the opening set of the 2022 championship match against Djokovic before the man who recently won his 23rd Grand Slam singles title triumphed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Kyrgios sounded optimistic on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve been hitting some really good players this week and my body feels good. I’m going to take it one day at a time. I’m not going to look ahead and put unfair expectations on myself,” he said. said. “I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare myself, go out and play good tennis.”
Turns out he won’t get that chance these two weeks.
