(Sydney) ‘If it were up to me, I wouldn’t really want to play anymore, to be honest’: Saying he was ‘exhausted’ from three surgeries in recent years, Nick Kyrgios, 28, said he only saw himself playing tennis for another year or two.
The whimsical Australian had knee surgery in January, then gave up on returning to Wimbledon, a tournament in which he had been a finalist in 2022 against Novak Djokovic, after tearing a ligament in his wrist.
Since the Tokyo tournament in October 2022 (quarterfinal defeat against Taylor Fritz), he has only played one match (a defeat in June 2023 in Stuttgart against the Chinese Yibing Wu), and had to resolve on Saturday to declare package for the Australian Open which will take place next January.
“I am exhausted, tired. I had to undergo three operations,” the player told the podcast this week On Purpose with Jay Shetty. “I always wanted to have a family, but I don’t want to suffer,” continues the player, 13e world player, his best ranking, in 2016.
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t want to play anymore, to be honest. I have to continue, I still have a lot to give, but I don’t want to play anymore,” adds the player. “When I get up, I can’t take a step without being in pain.”
“I only want to play for another year or two, come back to the top and leave when I want,” concluded the player. “I would hate to have another operation or something like that, but I think I can have another good year or two.”