Nick Kyrgios is not yet back from his injury troubles, but he knows that once he comes back, he will have to face expectations.
The last time the Australian played a competitive match on the ATP Tour was on June 13th, 2023, so it's been more than 365 days from that time. He has been dealing with a wrist injury that is, by nature, very complicated, especially for a tennis player.
It's a part of the body that is constantly used by tennis players, so it's very hard to recover from it, especially if it is a significant injury like Kyrgios's. The Australian has also been quite conservative with his rehabilitation because he knows that if this doesn't work, it might end his tennis career.
Dominic Thiem's career was completely destroyed by a wrist injury, to the point he'll retire later this year. Kyrgios doesn't want that to happen, so he's working hard to get back fully healthy, no matter the timeline. There are things that annoy him about his comeback, and he told the Canberra Times what that is.
"I'm expected to go win, which is bulls**t in my opinion. There will be players on tour that are ranked 40th in the world and if I play them in a first round they'll say, 'Oh Kyrgios should win in straight sets.' The majority of people don't understand. Everyone else is like, 'Play for another five years.' They couldn't last one day."
Kyrgios will have to face a fair share of expectations whenever he returns to the tennis courts. His most recent stay in tennis was very successful when he reached the Wimbledon final and played stunning tennis overall. Still, the expectations are not realistic, at least not initially.
"I'd say come train with me for a week and see how you enjoy it and then tell me to do that for another five years. It's not like I hit for half an hour and then go win matches. Just getting out there and playing at a decent level again would be a bonus."