Nick Kyrgios makes a promise he might not be able to keep

Many think the Australian player could be closer to retirement.
Kelly Defina/GettyImages
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Nick Kyrgios is either well-liked or people do not think much of him. Either way, Kyrgios does not seem to care and that is good. Besides, if you do not care for him you run the risk of him calling you a "potato." While being referred to as a root vegetable is obviously cutting, one still has the right to wonder if Kyrgios will ever play professional tennis again.

Kyrgios played just one match in 2023. He was injured before and remained injured (knee and wrist) afterward. But even a healthy Kyrgios does not always seem like a motivated one. Tennis fans might not care much except that we know that Kyrgios is capable of truly great things if he wants to focus only on tennis. To be fair, if Kyrgios wanted to focus only on commentating on tennis matches, that would be OK too; he is good at that.

But Nick Kyrgios says to hold up on any talk of him retiring just yet. While he played only one match last year and has commentated on matches during the ATP Finals and the Australian Open, Kyrgios seems to see himself as potentially still playing in those tournaments and more. He just would have a lot of catching up to do and his body seems like an old 28.

Nick Kyrgios says he is returning to tennis (at some point)

Likely, Kyrgios wanted to clarify the issue of whether he would play again after he said last November during a conversation with Jay Shetty, "I don’t really want to play anymore, to be honest." That seemed clear that Kyrgios would rather commentate, if anything, than play.

But this week, Kyrgios posted on Instagram that he is not ready to retire. Kyrgios wrote, "I'm as hungry as ever, constantly rehabbing at the gym. Part of the reason I'm commentating and doing all these things around AO is to feel still that fire and be part of it. So i want to let my fans know, I'm coming back, stay tuned. There is still plenty left in the tank."

So, that is good and bad. Kyrgios can be fun to watch while he is playing but he can also be maddeningly stressful. Meanwhile, while he is commentating he is funny and knowledgeable. I certainly do not want Kyrgios to leave tennis but he might simply be less stressful fully commentating.

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