Nick Kyrgios announcement leaves tennis fans saddened amid injury-plagued year

Tennis fans hoping to see Nick Kyrgios defend his title at the Citi Open in Washington have been left sorely disappointed, after the Aussie star's withdrawal was announced on Thursday. Kyrgios has played just one match at ATP level this year - last month in Stuttgart - as he continues his comeback from knee surgery and torn ligaments in his wrist.

The Aussie star went under the knife after withdrawing from the Australian Open at the start of the year, and has played just one match in the months that have followed. He skipped the French Open in May and was then forced to pull the plug on Wimbledon due to the wrist injury.

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With the American hard-court season kicking off in the coming weeks ahead of the US Open, many were hoping to see Kyrgios back on court. However it was confirmed on Thursday that he won't be playing in Washington despite winning the title there in 2022, as well as 2019.

The Citi Open was one of a number of titles that Kyrgios won last year (in singles and doubles) as he enjoyed a remarkable breakout season. However injuries have plagued him in 2023 and he hasn't managed to get on court.

Also withdrawing from the Citi Open on Thursday was former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev. The Russian has previously competed at the Washington ATP 500 event three times and reached the final against Kyrgios in 2019.

Speaking at the the Ultimate Tennis Show in Los Angeles this week, Kyrgios flagged his intentions to walk away from tennis sooner rather than later. When asked if he saw himself playing into his mid-30s like Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the Aussie replied: “No f**king chance. No way. Bro, there’s no chance I’m playing until 33. Nah, I promise you, when I’m gone, you’ll never see me again.”

The World No.35 described the ATP tour schedule as "out of control", adding: “I’m getting old. Twenty-eight. Yeah. But all the drinking and partying, I’m like 57.”

Mark Philippoussis paints bleak picture for Nick Kyrgios

Earlier this month, Aussie great Mark Philippoussis expressed his fears for Kyrgios and his recovery from injury. "He's not even close to being fit, and I knew straight away he was in trouble," Philippoussis said at Wimbledon after watching Kyrgios play in Stuttgart.

"If he comes back too early, which we have seen, and if he's not putting in the work physically on that knee to strengthen that joint, unfortunately I'm not sure how much we're going to see him. You have to give yourself every opportunity to come back and if you're a big guy and get a knee issue, you better get it right before you come back because it's just going to make it worse, you're going to be out further and your career could be done."

Asked if he feared for Kyrgios' career, Philippoussis added: "He's got to fear for himself. I've become a knee expert after six knee surgeries and it's something you can't mess around with. You're talking about your movement.

"My worry for him years ago was 'is he putting in the work physically?' and if he was to get that first major injury, I'm not saying it could be career-ending but it could be very dangerous if you don't put in that rehab work. I don't care how good your hands are, if you're not getting to the ball, and you're one-and-a-half, two steps slower, against any top-100, 200 player, it's going to be tough out there."

with AAP

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