"I don't have to play a normal schedule" - jokes Kyrgios about playing only 12 events this year
Australian no. 1 in singles and doubles, Nick Kyrgios will enter only his 13th event this year at the 2022 Japan Open in Tokyo.
With a quick look at the ATP Rankings, any tennis fan would recognize that number of events next to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios is unusually low. Majority of the players played at least 20 tournaments and likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Andrey Rublev even played 24 tournaments.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal played only 10, Novak Djokovic competed at 11 and Nick Kyrgios entered only 12 events this year. Every one of them has a different reason to do so.
While the Spaniard struggled with injury and also doesn't enter so many events because of his age, his biggest rival and the 21-time Grand Slam champion couldn't travel to Australia, Canada and the United States this year what prevented him from attending tournaments as Australian Open, US Open, Cincinnati Masters and Montreal.
Kyrgios, on the other hand, wanted to spend time with his family that lives in Australia and since majority of the calendar is played in Europe, there were some events that he had to skip. Recently, also Diego Schwartzman supported the Australian's attempts to bring more events outside of Europe, but that certainly won't happen in a near future with so many established events with long history played in Europe.
One of the fan accounts of Nick Kyrgios pointed out the fact that only the two Big Three members played less tournaments than him and the next player that did so is ranked outside of Top 100. The 2022 Wimbledon champion noticed the stat and responded with a funny caption on his story.
"Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the only players who have played fewer tournaments this year and are still better ranked than Nick Kyrgios. The next player who has played less tournaments than Kygs is ranked 132."
"I don't have to play a normal schedule. I'll chill at 12 events," joked Kyrgios about the stat.
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