Tearful Nick Kyrgios Bows Out of Indian Wells as Wrist Injury Shatters His Redemption Campaign

Not everything in life goes according to plan, and who knows it better than Nick Kyrgios? Right at the start of the season, he said, “I don’t think anything about that (ranking points) at all, it’s more about just getting healthy, getting back playing and enjoying the competition and coming back from the injury I had.” Three months into the season, and guess what? His wrist injury has resurfaced twice. Kyrgios was quite visibly in discomfort during his first match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Brisbane International. He was not in peak fitness during his singles or doubles campaign at the Australian Open either, both of which ended in the first round itself. And the fortunes didn’t really change at the Indian Wells where the Aussie had to retire mid-match again. Needless to say, it left him absolutely shattered.

Kyrgios returned to the Tour in January this year, after having undergone both knee and wrist surgeries, which kept him out of action for nearly two years. Shortly after announcing his comeback, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist admitted, “My wrist will never be the same. But I can manage it. It all really depends on how much pain I want to deal with.” He still battled pain to bring smiles to the faces of his Aussie fans during the Australian swing, but the result? Well, it wasn’t encouraging.

Despite that, everyone was keenly waiting for Kyrgios’ return at the Indian Wells Masters, which was going to be his sixth appearance in the tournament. The 29-year-old was perhaps aiming his first tour-level title win since the 2022 Tokyo triumph as well. After his arrival at the venue, Kyrgios participated in a charity pickleball event alongside his close friend Naomi Osaka, and everything looked fine until then. However, later, during the practice session, he seemed in discomfort again with his wrist. In fact, he had to call his team mid-way through the practice session to have a look at his right wrist. He eventually had to walk off the court.

With these scenes unfolding, concerns loomed around his participation at the BNP Paribas Open. The German legend Boris Becker shared his thoughts as well, saying, “Doesn’t look so good.” A few hours later, Nick Kyrgios came up with an update on his injury during his interview with the Tennis Channel. He said, “Look, I was feeling great. I actually just practiced for an hour, and second to last point, I actually felt my wrist a little bit.” However, he assured his fans that he’d do everything to keep himself ready for his first-round match against the Dutchman, Botic van de Zandschulp.

True to his words, Kyrgios turned up for the match against Zandschulp and even showcased his flamboyant skills, pleasing the crowd with two between-the-legs shots during the rally in the first set. He forced a tie-breaker in the first set, but then in the second set, everything turned upside-down for the Aussie. Kyrgios was already playing this match with a tape wrapped around his right wrist, but when, in the middle of the second set, the pain crept in again, he had to pause the match and call the trainer.

The former World No. 13 was trailing by 6(7)-7, 0-3 to the Dutchman at that stage. Unfortunately, he had to pull out right there, owing to severe pain. Kyrgios was quite gutted, obviously, and had his hands on his head crying before he went in for a handshake with Botic van de Zandschulp.

With the Aussie’s disappointing exit, fans will now be deprived of a possible clash between two close friends, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic. Botic van de Zandschulp, on the other hand, is now all set to face Djokovic for the second time in his career.

What did Kyrgios, in the meantime, say after the abrupt ending of his first-round encounter at the Indian Wells?

Nick Kyrgios reveals why he got a bit emotional after his first-round match at Indian Wells

Nick Kyrgios returned to the court with the dream of winning a Grand Slam to shut his critics up, but let alone winning a major title, keeping himself fully fit seems to be his biggest challenge for now. He had a win-loss record of 0-2 in the singles this year, ahead of the Indian Wells and now, after this mid-match retirement, things are looking much worse for him moving forward.

Kyrgios once came closer to winning a Grand Slam as he made it to the final at the Wimbledon Championships in 2022, but only to lose to his good friend Novak Djokovic. And his form just spiraled downwards from there. Highlighting the setbacks he had to face after that incredible run, the Aussie said, “I had an amazing season, literally knocking on the door of a Grand Slam, and then you just get pulled right back, and now you’re gonna start from – I literally don’t have a ranking at the moment.”

Kyrgios also went on to admit that he wasn’t too confident about his participation in the first round of the Indian Wells. “It’s just more so I guess the amount of work I’ve put in to get back, and just to know that it’s not- like, I can play some, there are glimpses of some really good tennis that I can still play. I guess this process has been probably one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my life. Reality, it’s not too bad, but for my tennis career, it’s by far the biggest,” he remarked. The Aussie also looked a bit exhausted when he said, “I don’t want to feel the pain I was feeling.”

Kyrgios is obviously quite disheartened, feeling so much of discomfort, even after having gone through a long recovery process. Do you think he can bounce back in his next tournament?