Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has always been very candid when talking about his tennis career as well as his personal life. Now, he has revealed that he is "tired" and is not keen on playing professional tennis much longer especially amid several injuries that he has been dealing with over the past year.
It may be remembered that the 28-year-old missed most of the 2023 tour, including all four Grand Slam tournaments. This is due to knocks on his wrist, knee and foot, with the latter having been picked up outside the tennis courts. He injured his foot while trying to recover a Tesla which was taken from his mother at gunpoint in Canberra earlier this year.
Prior to that, he had already been recovering from surgery on his knee due to an injury he picked up ahead of the 2023 Australian Open. The carnapping incident then happened in May, preventing him from joining the French Open.
By the time Wimbledon came along, Kyrgios had to make the decision to withdraw due to a ligament problem on his wrist. The same issue also kept his out of the US Open, and therefore most of the calendar year. He played just one ATP Tour match in June this year, where he lost to China's world number 64 Yibing Wu in Stuttgart.
It was a frustrating situation, considering how well his season went in 2022. It was the best year of his career, wherein he reached the Wimbledon final. It was his first Grand Slam singles final, and he also reached a career-high world ranking of 11.
Now it seems as though 2024 won't be starting off on the right foot. Just last Saturday, Kyrgios confirmed that he will once again have to skip the Australian Open, which takes place in January.
He confirmed that he is still dealing with his injuries and he has been left "exhausted" by the number of surgeries that he has had to undergo in the past several months alone. "I'm tired. I have had three surgeries now. I'm only 28 years old, I always wanted to have a family and not be in pain. When I get up, I can't walk without pain. It's a tough gig," he said.
Kyrgios then let out his frustration while guesting on the podcast "On Purpose with Jay Shetty. He said: "If it was up to me, I don't really want to play any more to be honest."
Here's the link to the podcast. I've not heard all of it yet, but I love Jay Shetty he's a great friend of Djokovic and his podcasts are great.
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) December 11, 2023
This is definitely worth a listen, Nick is a honest guy and will call it as it is and I respect him for that.https://t.co/p2CEiEwjym
He then contradicted himself slightly, saying: "I have to [keep playing]. I've got so much more to give but, for me, I don't feel like playing any more."
The 2021 Australian Open doubles champion then said that he intends to stay on tour for another "one to two years". However, he still hopes to "be at the top" and go down on his own terms.
He also shared that he is hoping to avoid having to undergo another surgery. However, he remains hopeful that he still has what it takes to compete for another year or two.
He then shared a message to his fans who may feel disappointed once he finally decides to put down his racket. "I think I'll be at peace with everything I've achieved and I'm going to have to just say to everyone out there who wants me to play more, 'you're just going to have to be OK with me not playing any more'."
Kyrgios has previously opened up about his mental exhaustion as a tennis player and his suicidal thoughts back in 2019.
"That period in 2019 accelerated my exhaustion and almost pushed me to the end of my career a bit earlier," he said. At that time, he had been thrust into the spotlight after some notable performances, and he had a difficult time coping. "If I had a normal career and I flew under the radar, I don't feel I'd feel this way but those couple years really, I think, put a lot on my age. It's just hard. I am tired. I'm tired of playing tennis."
It remains to be seen when he will finally make a comeback and if he will be able to stay on tour for another year or two.
