Nick Kyrgios admits he was ‘dreading’ return to tennis before injury ruled him out of Wimbledon

Nick Kyrgios says he was dreading the idea of coming back to tennis while he was sidelined with a knee injury that kept him out of this year’s Australian Open and saw him play just one match in the months since he had it operated on.

The Australian star, who’s been beset by knee problems which have kept him out of action for all but one losing match this year, on Sunday night [Monday AEST] withdrew from this year’s Wimbledon with a wrist injury – just hours after confirming he was ready to take on David Goffin in Monday’s opener at the All England Club.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he admitted that – after a rare nine-month break from the sport and following a refreshing spell back home – he did not like the idea of coming back to tennis.

‘I don’t miss the sport at all, to be fair. I was almost dreading coming back a little bit. But it’s my job,’ Kyrgios said.

‘I wouldn’t watch too much tennis. There’s a couple of players I enjoy watching. Every time ‘Foe [Frances Tiafoe] is playing or Thanasi [Kokkinakis] is playing, or anyone like this, I like watching.’

Kyrgios receives strapping from a trainer ahead of a practice session before Wimbledon, where he had pushed to be fit but came up short

Kyrgios battled during his first round match against Yibing Wu of China at the ATP Boss Open tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany

But after a brilliant 2022 campaign which peaked with his run to the final at Wimbledon, he admitted it was ‘heartbreaking’ to miss more grand slams when he’d been in such great form.

And with other mixed messages typical of one of the sport’s most complex characters, he warned people shouldn’t have ‘unfair expectations’ of him after his recent problems, while also suggesting he’s ‘extremely confident’.

‘I’ve never been a player that needs a lot of matches before a grand slam. I’ve always been on the side of not playing too much,’ he said.

‘But what I’ve achieved in my career never leaves. Last year, it wasn’t that long ago really, I feel like I’m still serving as good as ever. I’m still able to beat a lot of people on the court.’

But following a post on his social media on Sunday announcing his withdrawal from Wimbledon, Kyrgios will not be beating anyone on the All England lawns this year.

‘I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon,’ he wrote.

‘During my comeback (from knee surgery) I experienced some pain in my wrist …as a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.

Kyrgios and girlfirend Costeen Hatzi enjoy some downtime last year outside of his hectic tennis schedule

Since going under the knife late last year, Kyrgios has missed the Australian Open, Roland Garros and now Wimbledon

The injury setback has given Kyrgios plenty of time to spend with friends and family including Hatzi

‘I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.’

Speaking to reporters earlier on Sunday, Kyrgios said he was edging slowly back towards match fitness.

‘The last 10 days, I didn’t play Halle. I went to Mallorca, would have loved to get another match under my belt before Wimbledon, but my body wasn’t ready,’ he said.

‘I’ve been waking up, doing all the gym work required, rehab, treatment. I hit with (fellow Australian) Jordan Thompson. Played a set, felt OK.

‘Played another set with (American Maxime) Cressy the day before.

‘So I’ve been trying to emulate a little bit of the match kind of load that I’m going to have. Obviously, you can’t do that with a grand slam. Last year, first round I played (Briton) Paul Jubb, and it went for four hours.

‘I’ve been doing as much as you possibly can a couple days before Wimbledon. You don’t want to over-push it either.’