Nick Kyrgios withdraws from inaugural United Cup 24 hours before start

Nick Kyrgios was supposed to lead the Australian team at the inaugural United Cup, but he won't, as he had to pull out from the event.

The 2022 season was arguably one of the best in the Australian's career. He won 37 matches, lost only 10, and finished the year as the World No. 22 in the ATP Rankings.

On top of that, he won his first title in three years, and funnily enough, it was at the same tournament as his last, the Citi Open in Washington.

But after his most successful season since 2017, the 2023 season starts with bad news for him and all of his fans, as he was forced to withdraw from the 2023 United Cup, where he was supposed to lead the home team - Australia.

The 27-year-old will likely want to focus on the 2023 Australian Open, where he's the defending champion in doubles, and he'll certainly want to go far in singles as well.

It comes after he had a busy schedule during the off-season, and with limited time to prepare for the following year, Kyrgios still isn't 100% fit.

During the press conference, he said that he told the news to his teammates only shortly before announcing it to the public, and changes have been made in the Australian team already.

Alex de Minaur, who led the team at the Davis Cup Finals, will become ATP's No. 1 player, and Jason Kubler will move to the No. 2 spot.

Nothing changes on the WTA side as Ajla Tomljanovic, the highest-ranked Australian, is still set to compete at the tournament.

The Australian team will want to leave an impression at the inaugural United Cup tournament as they have an advantage that other teams don't have, and that's the home-ground advantage, which now isn't present even at the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup matches.