(Reuters) – Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open for a second successive year due to ongoing injuries that kept him out of action for much of the 2023 season, the Australian announced on Saturday.
Kyrgios pulled out of the Melbourne major this year and had surgery on his left knee. He was defeated in his comeback match following a five-month layoff, falling to China’s Wu Yibing in the Stuttgart Open first round in June.
The 28-year-old then missed the French Open due to a foot injury suffered during the theft of his car, and he pulled out of Wimbledon with a wrist ligament problem that also forced him out of the U.S. Open.
“This is a very disappointing time for me, but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open,” Kyrgios said on the online platform OnlyFans, which he joined on Friday.
“Obviously, heartbreaking. I’ve had so many amazing memories there, and I just want to really get back to playing at the top of my game and doing it right, and I need a little more time.
“I was so close to winning a Grand Slam. I want to make sure that my body is going to have the time it needs to come back, so please bear with me.”
Kyrgios’ injury woes began after a stellar 2022 campaign in which he reached the Wimbledon final, won the Washington title and made the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
He was a notable absentee from the Jan. 14-28 Australian Open’s main draw released on Thursday in a blow to organisers, but is expected to be at the Grand Slam for TV commentary.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
