
Nick Kyrgios experienced one of his worst seasons on the ATP Tour this year, and Mark Philippoussis believes this is due to his countryman's loss of confidence.
Philippoussis, a two-time Grand Slam finalist and Davis Cup winner, believes that Kyrgios' struggles during the 2021 season were due to his loss of on-court swagger as the Aussie has barely played over the last 24 months.
"I don't know what's happening for him off the court," Philippoussis told AAP. "This year he didn't play a lot but he didn't have a good year and he lost a lot of matches. He lost a lot of confidence in his game this year.
"Normally you can see the confidence because he can be a break point down and he can go to his second serve. This year is the first time I can honestly say I saw him playing games without confidence."
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Furthermore, Philippoussis stated that Kyrgios would need to take better care of his body in order to reach his full potential. Kyrgios withdrew from several tournaments due to the pandemic and a nagging knee injury, which saw his ranking drop to World No.93.
"It's only going to get tougher for him," added Philippoussis. "Because he plays with such power, if you don't take care of your body when you're six foot five that can lead to injuries.
"He's only 26, it's not like he's old. You can't be thinking you have time because sport is tough. He's 90 something in the world and unfortunately now he's going to have to grind to get back to the top 20."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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