Nick Kyrgios has described reports that he is considering retirement as “absolute nonsense”, just hours after appearing to suggest he was approaching the end of his tennis career.
Kyrgios was forced to withdraw from the 2023 edition of the Australian Open due to a knee injury, which required surgery and also caused him to miss the rest of last year’s majors.
The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up was also unable to appear at his home grand slam this month and has instead been commentating on the event for ESPN and Eurosport.
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Writing in a column which appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, Kyrgios said he was approaching the end of his time in tennis and was excited about his future outside the sport.
“I sat down with my agent, Stuart Duguid, a couple of days ago to talk about my future. The reality is, there is a part of me that knows my time in the sport may be over, and I’m okay with that,” Kyrgios said.
“It’s a conversation that needed to be had. I’m at a crossroads in my career and have reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me.
That’s the one! @NickKyrgios#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/V8o4VLgbov
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2024
“I could travel the world making really good money commentating on the sport, doing things like I am now with my talk show, interviewing guys like Gordon Ramsay and Mike Tyson.
“Other players’ entire world revolves around playing tennis, and that’s never been me.”
However, just hours after those comments surfaced, Kyrgios shot down suggestions that his career was over in a video posted to his Instagram story.
“I have woken up today and realised there are some articles going around, saying that I am retired and that I’m not going to play anymore,” the 28-year-old said. “I just want to just clear it up, it’s absolute nonsense.
“Yes, the last year has been tough with injuries, my knee, my wrist… but I’m hungry as ever, constantly rehabbing in the gym.
“Part of the reason why I am commentating and doing all these things around the AO is to still feel that fire and still be a part of it. I still wanted to let everyone know I’m coming back, stay tuned, but there’s plenty left in the tank. Don’t stress.”
Incredible first day at espn and Eurosport. Called some really dope matches. Prizmic got GAME. This guy gonna be good for a long time. Fritz survived. This gonna be a couple fun weeks. pic.twitter.com/cNnFyGEizI
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 14, 2024
In the original column, Kyrgios did rule out an appearance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, saying he no longer had any interest in representing Australia following his exclusion from the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
“One thing I will guarantee, I won’t be making myself available for the Olympics. I wanted to play for my country… I can’t say that I still have that desire,” Kyrgios wrote.
“Let’s be honest, I haven’t exactly felt like Australia has wanted me to represent it either. I’ve said before, I often feel more at home away from home.
“For them to forbid me from representing my country for behavioural reasons is something that I just can’t forget.”
