Nick Kyrgios will be holding a microphone instead of a tennis racket at this year's Wimbledon, having been hired by the BBC to work on their coverage for the tournament.
Kyrgios has been out of action for almost 17 months due to multiple injury setbacks. He underwent knee surgery in January 2023 and spent the next five months in rehab.
He was slated to compete at last year's grass-court swing, which he did, but he played just one match in Stuttgart, which ended in a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Yibing Wu.
Kyrgios would travel to London to play at Wimbledon but withdrew on the eve of the tournament because of a wrist injury. The Australian star did not return to the tennis courts for the remainder of 2023, pulling out from the US Open and the UTS Tour.
Despite regularly updating his fans on his recovery process and daily routines, Kyrgios did not divulge the timescale for his big return. He had been in talks with Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley about a potential comeback in Melbourne, but his body would not cooperate.
Widespread reports indicated that Kyrgios was gearing up to play in this year's grass-court season, but his confirmed involvement in a pundit role at Wimbledon suggests that will not happen. Instead, his comeback will have to wait until the US hard-court swing in late July.
Kyrgios tried his hand in the television booth, working as a commentator and analyst for Tennis Channel at last year's ATP Finals. He was also part of Eurosport's star-studded pundit line-up at the 2024 Australian Open.
Critics have generally raved about Kyrgios' commentary and insight. In his time away, Kyrgios has launched his own podcast, Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, where the likes of Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic have appeared as guests.
The 29-year-old will now take up the BBC's latest offer for their Wimbledon coverage. He is a former finalist at the All England, losing to Djokovic in four sets in the 2022 final.