Tennis Career Graveyard: Nick Kyrgios — What happened to the talent that could have ruled tennis?

Nick Kyrgios has spent much of his career being described as one of the most naturally gifted players in tennis. He beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon as a teenager, reached the world No. 13 ranking, defeated Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, and eventually reached a Grand Slam final.

Yet Kyrgios never won a major singles title and spent relatively little time anywhere near the level his talent suggested was possible. So what happened?

At the start of the 2020s, his body started to give up on him as injury setback after injury setback followed. Then, 2022 offered us a glimpse of what could have been. A Wimbledon final run followed by other big quarter-finals earned him his deserved praises. However, since then a barren spell of injuries have damaged his career to the point of no return.

There was a time that Kyrgios was touted as the next best thing, and for good reason. There is one thing getting these comparisons and predictions, and another living up to it. Kyrgios was just not built up to the task, a huge blow for the sport.

There was something quite unique about Kyrgios. His care-free attitude now synonymous with him on court made him a popular yet controversial figure. From producing showman shots to arguing with anything that bugged him, that is the legacy he is leaving behind in tennis. However, his class on the court will not be doubted.

Fans took notice when a 19-year-old Kyrgios took down the World No,1 Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon to reach the quarter-finals. He would lose against Milos Raonic after becoming the first debutant since 2004 to reach that stage. His big serving aided his approach on grass, which has been a surface he as grown to adore.

That year he ended 52nd in the world. The signs were looking very good as he continued to learn his craft. A second quarter-final at major level came in the Australian Open at the start of 2015. A couple of months later, he would reach a maiden ATP final at the Estoril Open but his first title would have to wait another year. At the Open 13 in Marseille, he took down Marin Cilic in straight sets to seal the first of seven ATP titles.

Following a spell-binding run to the semi-finals of the 2016 Miami Open, Kyrgios would emerge as a top 20 player. He was flourishing on the big stage, becoming an established talent that seemed to be on a trajectory to the top. He was the youngest player since Cilic seven years prior to climb into the top 20. At the US Open later that campaign, he retired in the third round with a hip injury that had been plaguing him for some time. Not a huge injury blow, but one to keep in mind as his career progresses.

Around that time, Kyrgios won the Atlanta Open and Japan Open, taking his title tally to three in 2026. He reached a career high ranking of 13th in the world, closing in on a top 10 debut. However, a decade later and he has never been able to surpass this mark.

He made it back-to-back Miami Open finals in 2017 before later in the year culminating his Cincinnati Open run with a first and only Masters 1000 final appearance. He was outclassed by Grigor Dimitrov who took home the title. This followed a bit of a form slump which saw him fall down the rankings and expel any consistency he once had.

2018 and 2019 brought up much of the same. His talent was undeniable, proving it by winning the Brisbane International at the start of 2018 on home soil ahead of a 2019 which involved silverware being collected at the Mexican Open and DC Open against Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev respectively.

However, his form on the big stage was dismal and slightly disappointing. The first thing to notice is that he stopped playing Roland Garros. Clay has never been a strong surface for Kyrgios, especially with the tantalising prospect of grass right around the corner. His last appearance at the French Open came in 2017. He regularly competed at the other Grand Slam tournaments, not making it past the fourth round in this two year spell.

2020 saw tennis heavily impacted by the global pandemic. COVID-19 was on the top of everyone's tongues with tennis taking a back seat. Kyrgios fell to 45th in the world with a wrist injury the major concern as he failed to defend his Mexican Open title.

Injuries and Kyrgios in the same sentence would be a lot more common at this stage. He withdrew from a number of tournaments in 2021 with knee problems before a return at Wimbledon was halted in the third round. After the conclusion of the Laver Cup, Kyrgios called it a year following a serious knee problem that still jabs at him to this day.

2022 was Kyrgios' year. He began with an emotional and poignant Australian Open doubles title alongside fellow countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis. The elusive major trophy had finally been claimed, even if it was in doubles and not his usual singles.

Speaking of singles, he had dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since June 2014. He soon clambered back in it with some impressive runs. He reached three ATP semi-finals in the first half of the year as well as the quarter-finals at Indian Wells for just the second time. He played just one clay court tournament before all focus was on grass, and specifically Wimbledon.

He would take down Paul Jubb, Filip Krajinović, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima and Cristian Garin to break new ground and reach his first ever major semi-final. Another tie against Nadal was in store, but a fortunate bit of luck saw his pathway into the final open up. The Spaniard pulled out through injury and Kyrgios was a Grand Slam finalist. Novak Djokovic was his opponent, and taking the first set, the Serbian was too good on the day.

The encouraging from this is that Kyrgios managed to kick on. Quarter-finals at the Canadian Open and most significantly the US Open. He would lose to Karen Khachanov in five sets at Flushing Meadows, but despite this returned to the top 20 for the first time since February 2020 and usurped Alex de Minaur as the Australian number one.

His success those past few years were also being balanced with the painful setbacks he continued to navigate. All the while, numerous areas of his body were shutting down and not functioning to the level he needed. Tennis is a very physical sport, with all the body parts and muscles having a valuable motive. When your hip, knee, foot and wrist are all in the wars, then that spells a bleak outcome.

Kyrgios was forced to withdraw from the United Cup due to a knee injury, which later become more serious. He missed the first few months of the season as his recovery period extended past Roland Garros as an armed robbery saw him injure his foot. His return at SW19 would not come about as he tore a ligament in his wrist. That was hugely detrimental. He said goodbye to tennis for an extremely long period of time, announcing that the 2024 grass swing will be his next port of call.

That was a bit optimistic with some sporadic exhibitions being played in at the end of 2024. An attempted comeback in 2025 Down Under did not brew up too many positives. Early exits and retirements continued to plague his progress. After the Miami Open, Kyrgios would attempt a return at the start of the North American hardcourt swing but it would end with another stint away.

His involvement in exhibitions at the end of the year were centred around the contentious Battle of the Sexes against the WTA World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, but his time spent on court boded well for his latest test. 2026 may have been the year of realisation. He competed at Wimbledon for the first time since that final run in 2022, but in the doubles. His latest withdrawal at the DC Open leaves a sense of mystery surrounding the now 31-year-old, whose career has taken a hefty turn for the worse.

Whether love or loath, Kyrgios' demise in tennis is a sad one and a huge what if from his days at this absolute best. It has been proven that when competing in his prime, Kyrgios can compete for major titles and huge honours. The problem? We do not see his best game as often as we should do.

His career high of 13th in the world back in 2016 seems rather low for someone with the CV he does. This magnified is due to the inconsistency of his triumphs and peaks, ranging over a decade of competing at the top level.

Overall, the main factor has to be injuries. The best ability is availability in sport, and no matter how good you are if you cannot keep yourself healthy, your potential may never be unlocked to the fullest. Kyrgios's career without injuries would have been different. Would he have been a major winner? Possibly. Would he have reached the top 10, or even higher, in the world? Most likely. Would he have been on par with the 'Big Three' and their esteemed rivals? There is a chance, but again consistency on court ravages that query.

There have been two peaks in his career, the more elongated one between 2014-2018 where he was an emerging and exciting talent followed by his first blip. That was due to results as well as injuries. He then regathered and found the winning combination in deadly fashion. No one doubted his capabilities, but those few glorious months in 2022 was just a peak of what the Aussie superstar could have been.

His career will most certainly never be the same. He may not even be a professional tennis player this time next year, and that may be the smart move. Countless comeback attempts have been mounted, but all failing. His fitness is at an all-time low which will impact his singles career with his wrist, foot, hip and knee all facing the consequences of a career in the wars. The talent was there. The consistency was not.

Nick Kyrgios will retire with a career most professionals would envy. But that is precisely why his story remains so fascinating. He didn't fail to reach the top because he lacked the weapons. He reached No. 13, beat the greatest players of his generation and reached a Grand Slam final with those weapons.

The question that will follow him is not how good was Kyrgios? It's how good could he have been?