The No. 1 seed from Australia, one of the favorites after winning his first Grand Slam singles match at Wimbledon last summer, missed a warm-up game due to a knee injury.
On Monday afternoon, he convened a spur-of-the-moment press conference and expressed his “devastation” at withdrawing owing to a minor rupture in his lateral meniscus (knee). On Friday, he played Novak Djokovic in a charity match and made no mention that his participation was in doubt.
I’m devastated, Kyrgios remarked. My neighborhood tournament. Here, I have some beautiful memories. The fact that I won the doubles championship the previous year and arguably played my best tennis ever speaks for itself.
“Then it’s brutal coming into this competition as one of the favorites. I can only move forward at this point, complete my tasks, and then return. “.
According to physio Will Maher, Kyrgios’ knee had been bothering him for a few weeks due to a small tear in the meniscus, so it made sense for him to pull out of the competition.
Kyrgios claimed he had given himself every opportunity to compete, but a hit on Monday morning with doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis made him realize he had to withdraw.
Additionally, the withdrawal prevents Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, known as the “Special Ks,” from defending the men’s doubles championship they won at Melbourne Park last year.
Will Maher, Kyrgios’ physiotherapist, said a tiny tear in the Australian’s left meniscus had resulted in a cyst needing surgery.
“To Nick’s credit, he did try everything,” Maher said. “Last week, even yet, they were trying to drain the cyst with a syringe during a process termed fenestration and drainage; Nick has some pretty graphic photos of this procedure.
“We tested his level of competition in the charity match against Novak. Despite not having an excellent pull-up, he still tried to give himself the best chance to train the following days. However, it is evident that he grew increasingly upset with each session.”
After a hit on Monday with his dear friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, whom he won the doubles title last year, Kyrgios ultimately made a choice.
Kyrgios claimed, “He pushed me a little bit around the court. Making the call was simpler today.”
“It isn’t comfortable. It just keeps throbbing after I finish a session or a game. I hardly got any quality rest the previous four or five nights.”
The excellent news for Kyrgios is that it should be an easy injury to treat, and he might make another appearance at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells early in March.