‘Back to the drawing board’: Kyrgios stuns crowd with audacious rally before wrist pain forces retirement

Earlier in the week, a video surfaced on social media of Kyrgios hunched over at the back of a court and clutching at his right wrist before walking to the net and ending his hitting session with Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro.

That vision sparked speculation he may not even play at Indian Wells, where he was due to return from an abdominal issue that impacted him in his grand slam comeback at the Australian Open in January.

“Look, I was feeling great. I actually just practised for an hour, and [on the] second-to-last point, I felt my wrist a little bit,” Kyrgios told The Tennis Channel pre-tournament of the practice match.

“I mean, it seems to be that point where I can’t really catch a break at the moment with my body, but these are just things you have to navigate. You know we’re all navigating different things in our lives and these are just the challenges in front of me, so I’ll do everything I can to be ready.”

In the same interview, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist referenced how top-10 stars Juan Martin Del Potro, Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori never made it back to their best after their own wrist surgeries.

“It takes time to get back to that level that you once were, and you may not ever get there,” Kyrgios said.

“You know Thiem was a grand slam champion and wasn’t able to really scratch the surface coming back.

“So, I understand the challenge that was in front of me. It’s almost a bit tougher now because I see the reality of you know how my wrist is.”

Kyrgios’ injury hell began when he withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open because of a parameniscal cyst that was growing in his left meniscus.

He underwent surgery and missed several months, but he planned to play at Wimbledon that year – and even conducted a pre-tournament media conference – before pulling out only hours later and revealing he had torn a ligament in his right wrist.

Another operation followed that sidelined Kyrgios for 18 months, and experts told him he may never play again.

However, Kyrgios made his much-anticipated return in late December in Brisbane, where he displayed encouraging form in a three-set defeat to French rising star Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard.

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But he sought treatment on his arm during that match and was seen grabbing at his right biceps in his doubles match alongside Djokovic the next day.

Kyrgios then announced days later that he would not play his scheduled exhibition match against Djokovic at Melbourne Park and his Australian Open return was in some doubt because he had sustained a grade one abdominal strain.

He ended up playing in the tournament, but bowed out in straight sets to Brit Jacob Fearnley, after which he said: “Realistically, I can’t see myself playing a singles match here again.”

Kyrgios, who has won seven ATP singles titles, did not play competitively between then and Indian Wells, with this latest setback another major blow to his bid to play regularly on tour again.

Three Australians – Rinky Hijikata and qualifiers Kim Birrell and Adam Walton – advanced to the second round at Indian Wells, but fellow qualifiers Maya Joint, Li Tu and Maddison Inglis lost.

Hijikata swept aside Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 6-3, Walton beat Giulio Zeppieri 7-5, 6-1 and Birrell downed Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-4.

There was also another setback for veteran Ajla Tomljanovic, who retired with a right shoulder injury after losing the first set 6-4 to American Caty McNally.

With Reuters

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