Nick Kyrgios has been tormented by injuries for over a year, and it doesn't look like the agony will end anytime soon.
Kyrgios disappointingly withdrew from his home Slam - the Australian Open - despite waiting till the very last moment in the hope of miraculous recovery. But that didn't happen, and they missed the fifth Grand Slam tournament in a row.
The much-maligned Canberra native missed all but one tournament last season due to knee and wrist injuries. Kyrgios' solitary appearance in 2023 was in Stuttgart when he looked woefully short on fitness as he fell to a straight sets defeat in the opening round to Yibing Wu.
At the ATP Finals last year, where he worked as a pundit, he admitted that the stars would have to "align" for him to return to tennis. He has grown increasingly frustrated recently and appeared in an interview with Award-Winning Storyteller Jay Shetty, where he asserted being "exhausted."
Although Kyrgios has not issued a fresh update publicly, he has disclosed his return date to tennis reporters he has been working with backstage. The 28-year-old has transitioned into a tennis analyst and co-commentator, juggling roles with Eurosport and ESPN at the 2024 Australian Open.
While there was a possibility that he would have made his return to tennis in North America during the spring hard court season, Kyrgios confirmed that won't be the case according to a recent report. Instead, he targets returning to grass courts, playing warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon.
Kyrgios played in his one and only Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon in 2022, where he finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic. The grass court season is also less demanding to the body, and it might be a sensible decision to resume his tennis career on the lawns.
For now, Kyrgios is clearly enjoying life in the television booth and has received positive reactions to his commentary work. It will be interesting to see whether he might extend his time behind the mic while inactive from the tour.
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