Nick Kyrgios delays comeback, withdraws from Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Seoul due to injury

Nick Kyrgios has delayed his comeback to the sport, withdrawing from the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Seoul due to a wrist injury.

The tournament is set to take place at the Korea International Exhibition Center from November 30 to December 3, where the final qualifiers for the inaugural UTS Grand Final in London will be decided. Other players confirmed for the exhibition showdown in South Korea include Gael Monfils, Alexander Bublik, and Jan-Lennard Struff.

Kyrgios was set to launch his return to the sport at the tournament after being absent for the majority of the 2023 season. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist withdrew from the Australian Open in January due to a knee injury and went on to miss the French Open before attempting to make a comeback at the Stuttgart Open in June.

The Australian player was defeated in his opening match in Stuttgart and he proceeded to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a torn ligament in his wrist. He then went on to miss the US Open and it became clear that he would not be returning to the ATP Tour in 2023.

However, the 28-year-old was still scheduled to play in Seoul and has been present in the tennis world this week as a commentator for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, where the Top 8 players of the season are currently battling it out for the title. However, fans will now have to wait a little longer to see him play again.

Last week, Kyrgios spoke of how he still had a lot of work to do in order to ensure he is healthy enough to launch his comeback: "There’s still a lot of work to do. I had some more setbacks after my knee coming back the first time. It was just not where I wanted to be and it was still causing me a lot of pain," he revealed.

"Obviously parts of other parts of my body were starting to feel sore and I was getting a couple of niggles here or there as well. My right wrist type of thing, just because I was compensating," he continued.

The former World No. 13 is now in a race against time to be fit enough for the 2024 Australian Open, where he is currently still scheduled to compete. In the meantime, Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka will replace Kyrgios at the UTS in Seoul.