Nick Kyrgios will not compete in this year’s Wimbledon tournament, the Aussie announced on Sunday.
Kyrgios made the surprise announcement in a social media post informing fans that he had a torn ligament in his wrist that arose as he attempted to come back from knee surgery.
It is the second high-profile tennis star to pull out of Wimbledon this year after Rafael Nadal had to do so due to injury.
“Hey everyone, I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year,” Kyrgios wrote in a story on Instagram. “I tried my hardest to be ready after my surgery and to be able to step on the Wimbledon courts again. During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during the week of Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.
“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon. I’ll be back, and as always, I appreciate the support from all my fans.”
The 28-year-old had been slated to face Belgian David Goffin on Monday in his first match of the tournament.
The Guardian had reported that Kyrgios had been practicing at the All England Club over the last few days in preparation for Wimbledon.
Kyrgios had one of his best seasons to date last year, which included finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022, but this season has gone far from anticipated as a knee injury early on forced him to miss the Australian Open in January.
Kyrgios had only just competed in his first match of the year a few weeks prior when he lost to China’s Wibing Yu in Stuttgart.
Kygrios acknowledged that there “were still some question marks” about his knee’s recovery after the match in Stuttgart.
That’s what likely makes the fact that it was his wrist and not the knee that kept him out of Wimbledon all the more frustrating.
“I’m going to take it one day at a time,” Kyrgios told The Guardian before Sunday’s withdrawal. “I’m not going to look forward and put unfair expectations on myself. I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis. I feel probably as good as I could feel at the moment.”