MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open for a second successive year due to ongoing injuries that kept him out of action for much of the 2023 season, the Australian announced on Saturday.

Kyrgios pulled out of the Melbourne major this year and had surgery on his left knee. He was defeated in his comeback match following a five-month layoff, falling to China’s Wu Yibing in the Stuttgart Open first round in June.

The 28-year-old then missed the French Open due to a foot injury suffered during the theft of his car, and he pulled out of Wimbledon with a wrist ligament problem that also forced him out of the U.S. Open.

“This is a very disappointing time for me, but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open,” Kyrgios said on the subscription website OnlyFans, which he joined as a content creator last week.

“Obviously, heartbreaking. I’ve had so many amazing memories there, and I just want to really get back to playing at the top of my game and doing it right, and I need a little more time.

“I was so close to winning a Grand Slam. I want to make sure that my body is going to have the time it needs to come back, so please bear with me.”

Kyrgios’ injury woes began after a stellar 2022 campaign in which he reached the Wimbledon final, won the Washington title and made the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

He was a notable absentee from the Australian Open’s main draw released on Thursday in a blow to organisers, but is expected to be at the Grand Slam for TV commentary.

Last month, Kyrgios said that winning a Grand Slam remained his driving force, having come closest at Wimbledon in 2022 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.

The Australian Open runs from January 14-28 at Melbourne Park, with Aryna Sabalenka defending the women’s title and Djokovic, the men’s.

While Kyrgios will be missing, 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal — who has not played since this year’s Australian Open due to injury — is on the entry list.

So too is four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who gave birth to daughter Shai in July. She has not played since September 2022, having also struggled with her mental health.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2023