Nick Kyrgios has all but played his final Australian Open singles match, after telling reporters following his first-round loss to Jacob Fearnley that he ‘can’t see myself’ re-entering the draw in 2025.
Playing his first grand slam match since 2022 after two seasons ruined by injuries, Kyrgios battled rib and wrist complaints – as well as several expected bouts of hot-headedness – to go down 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-7 (2) in the first round of the tournament where he has been a prime drawcard for over a decade.
Despite the odd highlight – most notably fighting back to draw level in the third set after conceding an early break point and producing an underarm serve and behind-the-back shot to draw a packed John Cain Arena crowd to their feet – the 29-year old was outclassed by the rising Scotsman.
Speaking immediately after the match, Kyrgios said he would have withdrawn from the match or retired due to his injuries, but didn’t want to disappoint the crowd.
“I didn’t want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire,” he said.
“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. Honestly, the reason I kept playing, tried to play tonight, was because of the fans.
“As I said, I don’t know how many times I’m going to be back here again. That’s why I didn’t have headphones on, I wasn’t listening to music. I walked out there today, wanted to hear the crowd. There were some special moments.”
Kyrgios entered the main draw of the tournament via a protected ranking, saying he felt he ‘deserve[d] to be there’ at the tournament despite the humbling defeat.
However, the controversial Aussie maintained he still has plenty of tennis left in him in 2025 as he continues his comeback to the game, which could include a doubles fixture with friend and countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis on Tuesday, fitness depending.
“It’s hard. When you’re competing for the biggest tournaments in the world and you’re struggling to win sets physically, it’s pretty tough,” he said.
“But I’ve still got a long year ahead. I’m trusting the process that I can still be able to do some cool things this year at some stage.
“I’ve put in a lot of work… I didn’t play a Grand Slam for 800-something days. I continued to stay motivated through all those days when I was watching everyone else play.
I was on the couch like in a cast. I stayed motivated. I trained. I was in the gym. I’m in good shape.
“All the niggles, I guess [were] my body compensating with the wrist – it’s tough.”
However, Kyrgios admitted that his struggles on serve throughout the match – including berating his coaches box and exclaiming that he ‘can’t f–king serve’ midway through the first set – took a toll.
“It’s just not enjoyable for me. It’s not enjoyable for me to go out there and not think tactically, enjoying the atmosphere, where am I going to hit the ball,” he said.
“It’s like what am I doing to manage my body, this is painful, I can’t do this because this hurts. That’s not tennis to me. That’s not sport.
“I’m happy to play through a bit of discomfort… I’m one of the biggest servers on tour, and I’m getting outserved tonight.
“My average serve speed was beneath 200 [km/h]. I mean, Nick Kyrgios without his serve is probably not – I’m not a threat to many players.”
© AAP
