Nick Kyrgios was forced to withdraw from the 2022 Atlanta Open due to a knee injury and the Australian came to the court to apologise to fans face to face.
The 27 year-old Australian has already hit the ground running in the doubles tournament in the Atlanta tournament, but competing in singles was just a step too far for him.
It still remains to be seen whether Kyrgios will pull out of the doubles tournament as well, but for now it is just the singles draw which has been affected by his retirement.
On hearing the news that the entertainer from Down Under was not going to be playing in the singles draw anymore, many fans would have been disappointed.
That is why Kyrgios made sure to come out and speak to them personally. On court, the Australian made sure to apologise to them for not being able to put on a show for them.
Addressing them directly on court, he said:
“I just want to say that I’m extremely shattered that I’m not able to compete tonight. I’ve won this tournament once and, you know, I’m playing some of the best tennis of my career. All I wanted to do was come out there and give you guys a show and obviously see what I’m capable of, but I’m unable to give out my best performance today,"
“I’m extremely sorry but I’m going to keep my hopes up and maybe be able to continue doubles with Thanasi this week. But I hope you won't be too hard on me."
All tennis fans in Atlanta and beyond will be hoping that he can indeed still play in the doubles tournament with long-time friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, but of course, rest and recovery while injured is the most important thing.