It's been almost three full years since Nick Kyrgios has played a real tennis match. Yes, he's played in an event here and there in that time, but he hasn't played a complete healthy tennis match since 2022. The last healthy version of Kyrgios we saw was his quarterfinals run at the US Open that year, an event he will now miss for the third straight year.
Being off the tennis court hasn't kept Kyrgios out of the spotlight, though. He has remained active on the tour, most notably in front of the camera, offering his personality and knowledge to fans and viewers tuning in.
While dealing with injuries, Kyrgios has evidently pondered retirement, but has never come to a full-stop decision on the matter. His battle with tennis may be more internal than external, which could explain why he keeps the retirement embers stoked, but not giving in just yet.
Nick Kyrgios's future still involves competing, but for how long?
It was toward the end of the 2024 season that Kyrgios made several interesting comments regarding his future in tennis. While appearing on the Nothing Major podcast, Kyrgios mentioned in detail the pain and discomfort he experiences daily in his wrist.
He also admitted he doesn't really want to play tennis anymore, but he also revealed he has much more to give to the sport. The fire, as fading as it may be, remains in Kygrios. He's also not wrong; he possesses some of the best talent in tennis, even today, but he has to be healthy to play at those levels.
Many within tennis circles believed Kyrgios could win a Grand Slam, and he did reach one in '22 when he faced Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. He lost to Djokovic, but he made it to the final show, which proved how good he was. That year was generally good for Kygrios, marked by a title win in Washington and a strong US Open run.
Kyrgios' talent was always there, but distractions kept him from reaching the heights he was capable of achieving. Now, having played minimal tennis over the past few years due to injuries, it's tough to imagine Kyrgios regaining his form from 2022 upon his eventual return.
Still, that doesn't mean he can't compete and make runs in big events. Unfortunately, his withdrawal from the US Open doesn't help his case, but if we're to hang on to Kyrgios' words from last year, he may not be fully done with tennis after all.
He mentioned in the same podcast that he wants to play for another one to two years. Well, it's one year later now. Kyrgios may still have more tennis in him, but he's crawling to his finish line, a fact that's more evident now than ever before.