Nick Kyrgios last played tennis in June last year in the first round of the Stuttgart Open. As it turns out, that may have been our last look at Kyrgios, the player, on a tennis court.
The 28-year-old on Wednesday revealed his “time in the sport may be over” after sitting down with his agent, Stuart Duguid, a few days ago to talk about his future.
Writing in a column for The Sydney Morning Herald, Kyrios went on to add that he has “reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me”, something which he has been given an early glimpse at while commentating at this year’s Australian Open.
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“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,” wrote Kyrgios
“It’s why my manager brought it up. He said, “This could be you from now on if you want it to be.” 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.
“That’s a life people wish they had. Even the players on the circuit would love to be doing what I am doing now, but they have a different way of thinking. They don’t have the global reach that I do. Otherwise, they would be doing it too. Their entire world revolves around playing tennis, and that’s never been me.”
In fact, Kyrgios has previously been open about “hating” tennis when he was growing up, instead falling in love with basketball.
But the Australian’s success in the sport of tennis gave him an opportunity to provide for his friends and family.
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“That’s when I realised that was the journey I had to do because to say I would make it in the NBA, I don’t think I would. It was an easier route for me to make it out,” Kyrgios said on comedian Trevor Noah’s podcast What Now? earlier this year.
Having now built a significant profile in the sport, Kyrgios has started exploring other avenues in tennis including commentary, even interviewing Novak Djokovic after his quarter-final victory over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
Djokovic said it was good to see Kyrgios and that hopefully it would be “with a racquet soon”, although it sounds like if that doesn’t happen the Australian will live with that reality.
“Even over the past week being at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, I’ve been happy,” Kyrgios went on to write in the column.
“Of course, there’s a part of me watching on that would love nothing more than to be out there, especially after what I managed to do at Wimbledon 18 months ago in reaching the final against Novak Djokovic.
“I sit there and watch some of the players on tour and know within myself that this generation is not as strong as some of the players I have gone up against.
“I know I can be one of the best in the world and win major tournaments – if my body lets me. The fire still burns, but it’s not my everything.
“It annoys me that there are people out there who think that I don’t want to be out there. It’s as if they think I don’t want to play and make excuses with my injuries.”
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Kyrgios withdrew from this year’s Australian Open due to ongoing rehabilitation from knee and wrist injuries and added he does not know when he will be back.
“I’m hoping I can recover from the wrist injury that required surgery last year in time for Wimbledon and the US Open, but that’s no guarantee. My body may never be the same again and injuries can take you down a different path than you imagined,” he wrote.
There is one thing Kyrgios is sure of.
“One thing I will guarantee, though, is that if I am fit and ready to play, I won’t be making myself available for the Olympics,” he added.
“The way I was treated by the Australian Olympic Committee and former chef de mission Kitty Chiller will never be forgotten.
“To ban me from playing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games was a disgrace. I was No.13 at the time and had a genuine chance at winning a medal. For them to forbid me from representing my country for behavioural reasons is something that I just can’t forget.”
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Kyrgios called out the Australian Olympic Committee at the time for its treatment of him, describing it as “unfair and unjust” while adding the AOC had made it “crystal clear” it opposed him being part of the team.
Kyrgios, along with Bernard Tomic, had been “on watch” because of their behaviour at the time according to then AOC chef de mission Kitty Chiller.
Whether Kyrgios returns to the court at Melbourne Park remains to be seen but the Australian is confident his return would see an immediate boost in “crowds and viewership”.
“Some people are rejoicing in the fact that I’m not playing. I think the crowds and viewership at the Australian Open the past couple of years tell a different story,” he added.
“Sport is entertainment and I like to think that I’ve put on a show. But the curtain has to close at some point.”
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