Nick Kyrgios retirement rumours rubbished as he wants to provide fans 'with the entertainment we wan

Nick Kyrgios is on the mend and motivated to play at next year with Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley brushing off suggestions the tennis star is ready to walk away from the sport. Former world No 13 Kyrgios has played only one match in 2023 a first-round defeat at the Stuttgart Open in

Nick Kyrgios puts on a show

Nick Kyrgios is on the mend and motivated to play at next year with Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley brushing off suggestions the tennis star is ready to walk away from the sport.

Former world No 13 Kyrgios has played only one match in 2023 – a first-round defeat at the Stuttgart Open in June – as he has struggled with a knee injury.

His nightmare started before the Australian Open as he was forced to pull out of a warm-up event and then on the eve of the season-opening major he announced that he had a tear in his lateral meniscus and will require arthroscopic surgery

He had initially hoped to return in March, but it was pushed back and he finally made his comeback in June only for it to be short-lived as he then also missed Wimbledon and the US Open.

Kyrgios, though, is in course to return to action next year and he very much wants to play at the Australian Open, according to Tiley.

“We know Nick’s [Kyrgios] been in training so we expect to see him back,” the Australian Open chief told Nine’s Today.

Tiley later added: “The one thing great about Nick – he’s very transparent and very open about what he’s feeling and what he thinks … I personally believe in the communication that he’s motivated to come back and play in January.

“He loves playing, he loves playing here in front of his crowd, and he knows everyone wants him to play … it’s just a matter of his health. He’s had a significant injury and in many cases for many athletes it can be a career-ending injury.

“He’s in the process of still getting over that, and I fully expect him to be here and be ready to play and provide us with the entertainment we want.”

Kyrgios has slumped to No 470 in the ATP Rankings, but he will be able to use his protected ranking to get into the main draw of the Australian Open and other events.

However, there had also been concerns that Kyrgios could walk away from tennis as he has never made a secret of the fact that he is not keen on playing well beyond the age of 30.

In June he admitted that “all the drinking and partying” is likely to force him into early retirement.

“The schedule is out of control. I’m getting old. I’m getting old,” he joked. “(I am) 28… but with all the drinking and partying, I’m like 57.”

READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios picks his GOAT from Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and reveals which player ‘made him feel s**t’

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHNp6Csa2Zqe6S7zGiYrqukp66ttcCnZKiolaN8r7XCpGSksaKctrC%2FjKucraGimrqmutNmqa6ln6q%2FtHnRrpmboaOdsqV5z6umr6GUmnq1sc2noKxllpa7tHnEp6ueqqSWtq%2B5xKer

 Share!