Tennis Australia CEO defends late Kyrgios withdrawal from United Cup
ATP
Tennis Australia CEO, Craig Tiley, defended Nick Kyrgios after his late withdrawal from the inaugural edition of the United Cup.
Host nation Australia couldn't make it out of the round-robin stage at the 2023 United Cup. They lost to Great Britain in their first tie, and since Great Britain also beat Spain, they secured the first spot in the group.
However, shortly before the event began, Nick Kyrgios was the main talking point. He withdrew from the tournament only hours before the start of the tournament, which didn't make the team captain, Lleyton Hewitt, happy, as he slammed Kyrgios for 'lack of communication.'
Now, Tennis Australia CEO and the Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley, who spoke on TODAY, defended Kyrgios and his withdrawal, explaining the other side of the story.
"We had conversations with Nick. He makes a precautionary decision to protect his ankle in his preparation for the Australian Open. He gave himself, in our opinion, the best possible chance by maximizing the time until he was cleared to withdraw from the event."
Tiley explained that often, when a player doesn't have an injury that would certainly prevent them from playing, but instead a smaller setback, they often wait as late as possible to maximize their chances of playing.
That's what Kyrgios did, but unfortunately in his case, he ultimately wasn't able to compete, which is why he was forced to withdraw from the United Cup.
"Most athletes – this is Nick's case – will give themselves the best possible chance to compete and make a decision as late as possible. It's more difficult when you're in the United Cup, which is a team competition, so it impacts others, but withdrawals are quite common...when players are preparing for a major event and they have several preliminary events."
"We have Adelaide starting and Hobart coming in. There will probably be other athletes in the same situation as Nick. We're confident he'll be fine, and we can't wait to see him play."
Tiley will also hope that Kyrgios recovers in time for the Australian Open. He is a crowd magnet, which is why having him compete would be great for the tournament organizers.
"He loves to play the Australian Open, we've seen the energy he brings to the court and I think the big challenge will be deciding which court to put him on."
