"I will not retire this week. I will address this topic myself very soon" - Retirement rumours debunked by Kei Nishikori at Challenger event

The rumour mill has once again been circulating in the tennis world, but this time spitting out false information that Kei Nishikori would be playing his final event before retiring. These have been debunked by his agent ahead of him competing in a Challenger tournament.

He will be competing in the Sarasota Open, an ATP Challenger event that he had previously stormed to glory in, winning it in 2010 before he made a huge impression on court in the biggest events.

Nishikori is the only tennis player coming from Japan to have been ranked inside the top five on the ATP Tour, climbing to fourth in the world back in 2015. He has reached a total of 12 Grand Slam quarterfinals, getting past that stage in three of them all at the US Open where he was runner-up in 2014 at the hands of Marin Cilic. He has won an Olympic bronze medal, reached four Masters 1000 finals and collected in total 12 ATP titles in a career which has slowly fallen away.

From 2017, injuries blighted his progress and prevented him from competing on the big stage as regularly as he once had been. The 36-year-old now plays his trade on the Challenger Tour, having competed in three events this year but getting just one main draw win. He will be hoping for a better result in the USA at the Sarasota Open. Along with him, other past winners include Nick Kyrgios in 2014, Sam Querrey in 2012, James Blake in 2011 and Frances Tiafoe in 2017. This year's tournament will also feature Cristian Garin from Chile, ranked 95th in the world; American Zachary Svajda (96th); Australia’s Rinky Hijikata (98th); and Americans Martin Damm (133rd) and Colton Smith (162nd).

The tournament had reported the news to several media outlets that this would be the former world number four's final tournament, and that he was set to retire after it.

A decision like this was not one to take lightly, and it turns out that this was not true. As confirmed by his agent and journalists, including Ben Rothenberg, the news was false and Nishikori was not set to retire after this competition coming up.

The world number 417 confirmed the news on X. "Hello everyone. There is a lot of false information circulating. Yes, I will play the Sarasota Challenger at the IMG Academy site. And no, I will not retire this week. I will address this topic myself very soon. Thank you."

Nishikori is set to start up his tournament on April 6 against the world number 339 Nicolas Kicker. While he has not confirmed when he will stop for good, it cannot be much longer before he decides he has had enough. Now 36, he is unable to compete at the highest level anymore due to his age and constant injury troubles holding him back for some years. While the likes of Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils to this day are still showing their skillset in some of the biggest tournaments in the world, Nishikori has been banished to the Challenger circuit. For the time being, he will continue to plough on in hope of extending his tennis career for a while longer.