Nick Kyrgios admits one of the toughest and most heartbreaking things about his injury issues is the fact that they came right when he started to play the tennis of his life and looked primed for major things.
Throughout the 2022 season, the Australian was consistently performing well – he made his maiden Grand Slam final that year, clinched several top-10 wins, won the ATP 500 tournament in Washington, and also made the semifinal on three separate occasions.
But then, Kyrgios picked up a knee injury just before the start of the 2023 season and surgically addressed it. Half a year later, he was hit with another brutal setback after seriously injuring his wrist and requiring another surgical procedure.
After playing only one tournament across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the former world No. 13 returned to action at the start of 2025 but he is only 0-3. And the worst thing isn’t his winless record but the fact that he has dealt with pain and discomfort in his wrist in all three matches played.
On Thursday, Kyrgios played his first match since the Australian Open and he retired against Botic van de Zandschulp in the Indian Wells first round.
Kyrgios: I keep talking about that 2022 season but can’t expect it anymore…
“It’s brutal, especially because I was having such a good year. I think that’s what is painful for me. And I think, you know, the coach I’m here with this week, my physio, I keep talking about that year, and it’s, like, you can’t expect that anymore. That’s I think for me what’s a bit heartbreaking just because I thought I’d figured it out,” the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up admitted.
“I had an amazing season, literally knocking on the door of a Grand Slam, and then you just get pulled right back, and now you’re gonna start from — I literally don’t have a ranking at the moment, was out for one-and-a-half years, and I’m trying to work my way back.”
Unless Kyrgios can somehow find a solution for his lingering wrist pain, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him soon walk away from pro tennis, considering some of the remarks he made in Australia.
Tennis World USA