Nick Kyrgios reveals his wrist injury was so bad that he had to “relearn” how to use it after surgery and also shared that one encouraging message from Novak Djokovic triggered his comeback.
After surgically addressing his knee injury in 2023 January, the Australian probably rushed his comeback for the grass swing that year and it came back to haunt him since he injured his wrist in his first tournament back in Stuttgart.
Three months later, Kyrgios’ season was finished. However, not playing again in 2023 wasn’t the worst thing – the worst thing was that the 29-year-old sustained a very serious injury to the point where he felt extreme pain and couldn’t even do basic things. And he had a secret surgery in Australia last year after finding the top wrist surgeon. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up told this a few months ago.
Now, Kyrgios has shed more light on his surgery and recovery. And some details are terrifying since there were “four holes” in his hand and the surgery left his fingers looking like “sausages.”
“It was a wrist reconstruction, so there was four holes drilled in my hand, and there’s a piece of string kind of holding my wrist together and my fingers looked like sausages when I got out of the surgery. I was in a cast for about 12 weeks, no movement, and I basically just had to relearn how to use my right wrist again, even just carrying grocery bags, anything was super painful. But then I started getting some real improvement at the nine-month mark… to a point where I feel like I’m playing how I was in 2022,” the former world No. 13 said.
Kyrgios on Djokovic’s key message that ignited his return
Sometime in the spring, the seven-time ATP champion started practicing again and there was belief that he was preparing to return in the second part of the season during Wimbledon or the US Open. In the end, that didn’t happen because he decided to be as cautious as possible with his comeback.
But during this year’s Wimbledon, Kyrgios worked as a commentator and he also met with Djokovic for a practice. After their practice, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion dropped a message that convinced the 29-year-old that he still had the game. That’s when the 2022 Wimbledon finalist said that was it.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic© YouTube screenshot
“I was hitting with Novak and when he said to me, ‘It doesn’t look like you’ve had surgery. And that was a big motivation to say like maybe I’m actually making some inroads and some progress into getting back because I didn’t really know. That was a big drive for me… so, if he didn’t say that, I don’t know if I would have been motivated and if I would have kept pushing on the thought, but that was definitely a big part of the journey when he said that to me,” Kyrgios recounted.
Kyrgios’ return starts in Brisbane
Last week, the Brisbane International organizers announced that the former world No. 13 would start his comeback in the first week of the new season between December 29 – January 05. Following the announcement, the 29-year-old also confirmed that he was at his best in two years.
Nick Kyrgios Brisbane poster© Brisbane International/Instagram – Fair Use
“Honestly, this is probably the best I’ve felt in two years. I played that amazing year in 2022. Then, at the finals in Wimbledon and the US Open, that’s when I started feeling some issues in my wrist. I had that wrist reconstruction, and now I’m feeling amazing. It was a 15% miracle chance that I was going to get back to playing at this level and here we are. To get back out there in front of the home fans is going to be sick. I am feeling fit and healthy, and I am excited for my return to tennis following some time out of the sport,” Kyrgios told Nine News last week after his comeback date was officially confirmed.
In the past, the Australian didn’t manage to make it past the Brisbane qualifier as an 18-year-old teenager in 2013. But in his main draw debut that came in 2018, Kyrgios made it all the way. The following year, he returned to defend his title but failed in his bid after losing to Jeremy Chardy in the round-of-16.
For his fourth Brisbane appearance, the home favorite will probably just want it goes well. And if a good result comes, it will make his first tournament back even better.
Recently, Kyrgios noted in one of his interviews that his ultimate goal will be to return to his best tennis and try to win a Grand Slam.