Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the 2023 Australian Open with an injury to his left knee. The Australian no. 1 announced his decision in a press conference he called on Monday.
Seeded 19th in the draw, the world no. 21 was to play Roman Safiullin in the first round at Melbourne Park. Kyrgios said that he’d torn his meniscus and would be undergoing arthroscopic surgery to treat the same.
Nick Kyrgios’ shocker
On Friday, 13th January, two days prior to the start of the first Major of the year, Kyrgios had played an exhibition match against nine-time champion, Novak Djokovic. That lead-up event had added to the frenzy of his participation at the Australian Open, where he was also the defending men’s doubles winner (with fellow Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis).
In his press conference, Kyrgios said that he expects his recovery time to be around three-to-four weeks following the surgery. The 27-year-old hasn’t played singles competitively since the 2022 Tokyo Open and following this news, the wait to see him take to the courts again has only gotten longer.
Kyrgios, too, was heavily disappointed and termed that he was “devastated” about having to miss the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kyrgios’ pulling out of the event has meant that the home nation’s now missing both its men’s and women’s no. 1 players. Earlier, the Australian women’s no. 1, Ajla Tomljanovic announced that she wouldn’t be able to play at home on account of her body not being fully healthy. In a statement, Tomljanovic said, “I’ve done absolutely everything in my power to get healthy but just ran out of time to heal and be 100 per cent ready to compete at a high level. It’s been a very tough decision to make but I have to listen to my body.”
Alongside Ajla Tomljanovic and Nick Kyrgios now, there are other big names who have been forced to sit out of the Australian Open due to injury. These include 2018 finalist, Marin Cilic, Paula Badosa, and the reigning men’s no. 1, Carlos Alcaraz.