Nick Kyrgios admits he was “scared” of returning to tennis before injury ruled him out of Wimbledon

Nick Kyrgios says he dreads the idea of ​​returning to tennis after being sidelined by a knee injury that kept him out of this year’s Australian Open and saw him play just one match in the months following surgery.

The Australian star, who has been plagued by knee problems that have kept him out of action for all but one lost game this year, came into Sunday night [Monday AEST] pulled out of this year’s Wimbledon with a wrist injury – just hours after confirming he was ready to take on David Goffin in Monday’s opening match at the All England Club.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he admitted that – after a rare nine-month break from the sport and a refreshing spell back home – he did not like the idea of ​​returning to tennis.

– To be honest, I don’t miss sports at all. I was almost afraid to go back. But that’s my job,” Kyrgios said.

– I wouldn’t watch too much tennis. There are a couple of players I enjoy watching. Every time ‘Enemy [Frances Tiafoe] play or Thanasi [Kokkinakis] plays, or someone like that, I like to watch.

Kyrgios withdrew from Wimbledon, where he reached the final against Novak Djokovic last year

Kyrgios gets the straps from trainer ahead of pre-Wimbledon training where he had pushed to be fit but fell short

Kyrgios battled in his first round match against China’s Yibing Wu at the ATP Boss Open tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.

But after a brilliant 2022 campaign, which was capped by his victory in the Wimbledon final, he admitted it was “heartbreaking” to miss out on more grand slams when he had been in such good form.

And in other mixed messages typical of one of sport’s most complicated figures, he warned people should not have “unfair expectations” of him after his recent troubles, while suggesting he is “very confident”.

– I have never been a player who needs a lot of matches before a grand slam tournament. I’ve always been about not playing too much,” he said.

– But what I have achieved in my career will never disappear. It really wasn’t that long ago last year, I feel like I’m still serving as well as ever. I can still beat a lot of people on the field.

But after announcing his withdrawal from Wimbledon on social media on Sunday, Kyrgios won’t beat anyone on the All England grass this year.

“I am very sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon,” he wrote.

“During my return (from knee surgery) I had pain in my wrist …as a precaution I scanned it and it came back as a torn ligament in my wrist.

Kyrgios and girlfriend Costeen Hatzi enjoyed some downtime last year outside of their hectic tennis schedule

Since going under the knife late last year, Kyrgios has missed the Australian Open, Roland Garros and now Wimbledon

The injury has given Kyrgios plenty of time to spend with friends and family, including Hatz

“I tried everything to be able to play and I’m disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.”

Speaking to reporters earlier on Sunday, Kyrgios said he was slowly working his way back towards match fitness.

– During the last 10 days, I didn’t play Halle. I went to Mallorca, I would have liked to get another match under my belt before Wimbledon, but my body wasn’t ready, he said.

“I’ve woken up, done all the gym work, rehab and treatment. Met up with (fellow Australian) Jordan Thompson. Played a set, felt good.

“I played the second set with (American Maxime) Cressy the day before.

“So I’ve been trying to replicate a bit of the match-type load that I have. Obviously you can’t do that in a grand slam. Last year in the first round I played (Britain) Paul Jubb and it took four hours.

– I have done as much as you can a couple of days before Wimbledon. You also don’t want to put too much pressure on it.