Hey there, fellow tennis fans It’s Mia Johnson-Carter here from Miami, and I’m super excited to share some big news from the world of tennis. Nick Kyrgios, the Aussie tennis star, has just announced his comeback to the ATP Tour after a two-year hiatus due to injuries. This is a huge deal for all of us who love watching him play!
Kyrgios will be returning to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International, which starts on December 29, 2024. This event is one of my favorite tournaments, and I’m sure it’s going to be electric with him back on the court. He’ll be competing alongside other top players like Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, and Ajla Tomljanovic from Australia.
The 29-year-old has been sidelined by career-threatening wrist and knee injuries since his impressive run at the 2022 US Open quarterfinals. His last Tour match was a short-lived return to grass at Stuttgart in June 2023. But now, he’s feeling better than ever!
“It was a wrist reconstruction, so there were four holes drilled in my hand, and there’s a piece of string kind of holding my wrist together,” Kyrgios explained. “My fingers looked like sausages when I got out of the surgery.” He was in a cast for about 12 weeks with no movement, making it tough to even carry grocery bags without pain. However, he started seeing improvements around the nine-month mark and now feels like he’s playing as well as he did in 2022.
Kyrgios’ comeback journey has been nothing short of inspiring. A pep talk from former arch-rival Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon this year really motivated him to keep pushing forward. Djokovic’s words were like a shot of adrenaline for Kyrgios: “It doesn’t look like you’ve had surgery,” Djokovic said, which gave Kyrgios the drive he needed.
With his last Tour match being a brief return to grass at Stuttgart in June 2023, Kyrgios has also committed to playing in the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne. He’ll also compete in the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi from December 19-22 alongside top players like Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Taylor Fritz, and Daniil Medvedev.
A winner of seven titles on the ATP Tour and once ranked number 13 in the world, Kyrgios still has grand slam ambitions. He knows it won’t be easy but is excited about his return: “Honestly, this is probably the best I’ve felt in two years,” he said. “I played that amazing year in 2022. Then at the finals in Wimbledon and US Open that’s when I started feeling some issues in my wrist. I had that wrist reconstruction and now I’m feeling amazing.”
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