"The surgeon said I probably wouldn't be able to play again" - Nick Kyrgios opens up on injury as he nears return at 2025 Australian Open

Friday, 18 October 2024 at 03:30

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios may have been sidelined for close to 16 months, but the former Wimbledon finalist is ready to make his return in front of home fans at the 2025 Australian Open.

Kyrgios has dealt with separate wrist and knee injuries, which have kept him out of action since early 2023. However, the Aussie intends to return to competitive tennis at the World Tennis League event in Abu Dhabi in December, before competing at his home slam in Melbourne Park in January.

Playing at home served as motivation for his comeback, admits Kyrgios

In an interview with SXSW Sydney, Kyrgios spoke on his mindset during his injury hiatus. The former World No.13 disclosed his doctors told him his outlook was bleak following his surgeries, but the Canberra native remained determined to return to the sport he loves.

"The injury I had was brutal,” said Kyrgios. “The surgeon said I probably wouldn't be able to play again. But I said whatever, just try and get me another two to three years of my career.
“Everything has gone semi-well and I will be playing the Australian Open this summer. It's been a brutal couple of years but just being out there to play in front of a home crowd - I just want to be out there, lighting up the crowd and playing in front of my own country.
“Whether it is good or bad (Australian Open), it will certainly be a lot of fun, for sure. I'm looking forward to it. My only motivation to come back and play is to try and win a grand slam, and I'll give it one more shot. I have beaten pretty much every person that has been put in front of me, made a final of a Grand Slam, won a doubles title in a Grand Slam, won multiple titles and made money.
“But I think the one thing that is now on my target is a Grand Slam. I think that will be the only thing that will shut people up at the end of the day. That'll be my deep motivation."

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Arthur Ajayi

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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