Nick Kyrgios refuses to play for Davis Cup team as he struggles with being apart from sick parents

Nick Kyrgios refuses to play for Australia’s Davis Cup team as he struggles with being apart from his sick mum and dad

  • Kyrgios has opted out of the Aussie Davis Cup squad amid run of great form
  • Bad boy opened up about his family situation with sick parents recently
  • Alex de Minaur will lead Aussie team in Germany next month
  • Team captain Lleyton Hewitt is disappointed not to have Kyrigos on board 

Nick Kyrgios has again opted out of the Davis Cup team with Alex de Minaur spearheading the Australians when they play in Hamburg, Germany next month.

Kyrgios hasn’t played in the event since 2019 and would have been a strong addition given his sparkling singles form plus grand slam-winning doubles combination with Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Team captain Lleyton Hewitt has still included Kokkinakis as a singles option for the group stage, alongside Australia’s top-ranked player and world No.20 de Minaur.

Nick Kyrgios pictured with Team Captain of Australia Lleyton Hewitt in 2020

Nick Kyrgios pictured with his mother - who is currently in hospital needing a kidney transplant

Nick Kyrgios pictured with his mother – who is currently in hospital needing a kidney transplant

Wimbledon men’s doubles champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell have also been named while Alexei Popyrin and Jason Kubler will also travel to Germany in the six-man squad.

It makes sense that Kyrgios has opted out of the Davis Cup team as he has recently revealed his heartbreaking family situation – with his mother currently in hospital needing a kidney transplant and his father also falling ill.

‘It’s hard because even travelling now, my mum is in hospital at the moment, my dad hasn’t been very well, my brother just had a baby and I don’t get to be there with my family when normal people would like to be with them,’ Kyrgios said after beating de Minaur at the Canadian Open.

Earlier in the tournament after a momentous comeback win over Daniil Medvedev, the Aussie signed a stirring message to his sick mum on a TV camera, writing: ‘Be strong Ma’.

Kyrgios (in yellow) is pictured as a youngster with (from left) his brother, sister and dad

Kyrgios (in yellow) is pictured as a youngster with (from left) his brother, sister and dad

‘It’s hard being from Australia because we can’t travel back and forth,’ said the Aussie. 

‘There’s a lot of things people don’t see. They only see me winning, losing, throwing a racquet, doing those things. They don’t really understand the challenges that I face or what people on tour face, what’s going on in their personal lives.’

Australia is drawn in Pool C alongside Germany, France and Belgium and will compete at the Am Rothenbaum from September 13-18.

De Minaur won both singles matches in Australia’s Davis Cup qualifier against Hungary in March and captured his sixth career ATP singles title in Atlanta in August.

Hewitt was disappointed not to have Kyrgios on board, with the world No.28 eager to get home after the US Open to spend time with his ill mother.

Kyrgios returns a shot at the Citi Open Tennis Tournament, where he was in some of the finest form of his career as he took out the singles and doubles titles

Kyrgios returns a shot at the Citi Open Tennis Tournament, where he was in some of the finest form of his career as he took out the singles and doubles titles

‘It would have been great to have Nick (Kyrgios) in the team but unfortunately he was unavailable for this tie,’ Hewitt said.

‘We fought through a really tough qualifying match back in March against Hungary which has now given us this opportunity to build on and the boys understand what’s at stake.

‘I look forward to Alex leading the team in Hamburg.’

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