Nick Kyrgios has suffered another predictable blow in his ailing tennis career, having to pull out of the US Open men’s singles with injury.
It’s the third successive year that the 30-year-old Australian has withdrawn from the New York grand slam and he has now missed the season’s final three majors after getting knocked out in the first round at his home Open in Melbourne in January.
Kyrgios, the Wimbledon finalist in 2022, went on to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open that year but has struggled ever since then with a catalogue of foot, knee and wrist injuries.
While vowing to try to get back to his best, he’s managed to win just one singles match while losing four in his comeback 2025 campaign.
He didn’t play at all last year and had just one match in 2023, and has now missed 11 of the last 12 grand slams.
Kyrgios has also not played any singles match since being beaten by Karen Khachanov at Miami five months ago, with his long-term wrist trouble still a problem while he also reported in July that his knee was still ‘cooked’.
In January, Kyrgios told Daily Mail Australia that he feared he might never play again due to the wrist injury.
‘Seven months out of my wrist I actually, I didn’t think I was going to play again. I was still having pain,’ Kyrgios said.
‘I still have pain now like I can’t play and I’m never pain-free in my wrist but it’s to the point where I can play now.’
He last played – and lost – in a doubles match with veteran Gael Monfils in Washington in July as he sought to rekindle his career, first in the much-hyped mixed doubles competition with Naomi Osaka at Flushing Meadows.
But after withdrawing from that, organisers announced, to no great surprise, on Thursday that the maverick seven-time tournament winner would now also not feature in the men’s singles, which starts on Sunday.
His place will be taken in the draw by a ‘lucky loser’ from the final round of qualifying.
Kyrgios had also been dropped by the BBC this summer from the British broadcasters’ coverage of Wimbledon.
In an interview with The Guardian, the Australian claimed that the decision was ‘very strange’ while adding that it was ‘unfortunate but it’s probably their loss more than mine.’
‘I understand they’ve got Chris Eubanks, but he hasn’t beaten the greatest of all time multiple times. When someone’s beaten Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic and has incredible insights, it’s very strange you wouldn’t want that person adding knowledge to tennis fans.’
