Nick Kyrgios withdraws from upcoming Paris Masters, citing troublesome knee issues

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been ruled out of the Paris Masters with injury. The Aussie star, who reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year, has failed to recover from the knee injury which forced him to withdraw from the Japan Open earlier this month.

The Masters 1000 event invites the top 16 male players in the world, with Kyrgios currently at a career high of 13 having also reached the quarter finals of the US Open this season. The 50th edition of the prestigious tournament gets underway in the French capital on October 31.

The Canberra man had been set to participate for the first time, but on Thursday night Italian tennis journalist Mario Boccardi tweeted: "Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Paris Masters. Sebastian Korda is in, (Andy) Murray next in the entry list."

It's the second blow to the tournament, with American star Reilly Opelka also out, with his place taken by compatriot John Isner. And now there will be fears as to whether Kyrgios will appear again this year, as he builds-up to his home Slam at the Australian Open in January.

In Japan, Kyrgios was just minutes away from starting his last eight tie with Taylor Fritz when he emerged on court, minus his tennis gear. He then informed fans he could not fulfil the match having injured his knee in practice earlier that day, afterwards saying "It's the better option for my body."

He later revealed the issue had plagued him at Flushing Meadows, and took responsibility for not taking a sufficient break afterwards: "I've just been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around US Open time, got back home, probably didn’t take enough time off to be honest, went straight back into training," he said.

Not only will his withdrawal affect the singles draw, but also means the 'Special K' partnership won't be in the doubles. He and Thanasi Kokkinakis, who captured the Australian Open this year, are to be replaced.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will start as one of the favorites again for the individual title, although it's Carlos Alcaraz who goes in as the World No.1. The Spaniard capitalized on the absence of Djokovic to claim his maiden Slam in New York in September.