Nick Kyrgios has admitted next year’s Australian Open could be the last one he plays before announcing his retirement from the sport at the age of 30.
Kyrgios, a former top 20 player and Wimbledon finalist, has been troubled by injury setbacks over the past few years, which have sidelined him from the Tour for months at a time. This season, he has played just five matches across four tournaments, with the last of those being in March at the Miami Masters.
However, the Australian is still aiming to play some events during the off-season. One of which is a Battle of the Sexes match against Aryna Sabalenka, scheduled to take place in Dubai in December. That same month, he also entered to play the Garden Cup at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m training pretty much every day and playing. I’m just not competing,” Kyrgios told the Unscripted podcast. “The (ATP) Tour schedule’s nearly done, but there are a couple of events that I’m preparing for.”
Heading into the new season, Kyrgios confirmed it could be the last of his career. He has won 7 ATP titles and more than 200 Tour-level matches, with 27 of those victories being over top 10 players.
“I do know that I’m getting to the end of my tennis career now, especially with all these injuries,” he explained. “I can’t do another surgery where you’re out for another six to nine months.”
Due to his current situation, next year’s Australian Open could be the last ATP event he plays on home soil. Kyrgios’ best result at Melbourne Park was reaching the quarter-finals in 2015.
“I’ll probably play the Aussie Open in some way,” he said. “I’m not too sure what events I’ll play, but I definitely will say goodbye at the Aussie Open at least one more time.”
The Australian Open will begin on January 12th.
