Japanese star Kei Nishikori has given up his participation at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in the last hours. This comes as bad news for his fans who have been waiting with bated breath for the former top 10 player to make his return.
Reports say that Nishikori has been ousted due to his elbow injury still not being completely healed. Tommy Paul will be replacing Nishikori at the competition.
How did Nishikori get injured and what we’re the other theories floating around regarding his absence? Let’s find out.
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How did Kei Nishikori get injured?
Kei Nishikori has not been in action since a third-round loss to Alex De Minaur at the US Open, back in September. He required minor elbow surgery in the offseason, confessing that the pain was present way before the grand slam.
Nishikori went on to pull out of the Australian Open and the ATP Cup. In fact, he hasn’t played any tennis in 2020. However, the Japanese star is making his return to the court, in a different tournament and a more comfortable location.
Nishikori will be seen competing at the Davis Cup as a part of team Japan. He will participate in the home draw against Ecuador. The match will take place behind closed doors considering the impending threat of Coronavirus that has ravaged populations across the Japanese country.
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In fact, the earlier doubt over Nishikori’s participation was being raised over the threat of the disease. Reportedly, the USA was thinking of imposing a travel ban on Japanese and Korean citizens to counter the threat of Coronavirus.
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This meant that many tennis stars like Nishikori could have faced difficulty in entering the United States.
For Nishikori, playing at the Tokyo Olympics on his home turf will be the most important. Do you think Nishikori can become fully fit before the Olympics?