There were no aggressive showdowns with journalists as Kyrgios fielded and answered, articulately and at length, questions on topics from his surgically repaired knee and mental-health admissions, to social media scrutiny and even tournament security.<\/p>\n
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Nick Kyrgios kept his wrist injury to himself in a pre-Wimbledon media conference before withdrawing hours later.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>POOL AELTC<\/cite><\/p>\n However, Australian tennis\u2019 greatest showman omitted the most relevant detail of all.<\/p>\n Only hours later, a previously undisclosed wrist injury prompted Kyrgios to withdraw from Wimbledon, the scene 12 months earlier of his biggest on-court moment \u2013 a final against Novak Djokovic. He has not played since.<\/p>\n Kyrgios, 28, is only now free of a splint from his right forearm, with five weeks to go until the first ball is hit in anger at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n There is serious doubt about his AO involvement, almost 11 months since he sullenly walked into a Melbourne Park auditorium, dressed in black cap and hoodie, to announce he was out of the 2023 edition because of a knee injury.<\/p>\n Senior figures in Australian tennis told this masthead that next year\u2019s Wimbledon seems a more realistic return date, or at least timeline to be back to his best, from an injury that also blighted the careers of grand slam champions Juan Martin del Potro, Dominic Thiem and Emma Raducanu.<\/p>\n Kyrgios himself said the \u201cstars have to align a bit\u201d for a comeback.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t see him at his best for a while \u2013 probably not until Wimbledon next year,\u201d Australian doubles great and former AO tournament director Paul McNamee said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to make it for the Aussie Open or not, I don\u2019t have the insight, but he won\u2019t be at his best. He\u2019s pretty good fresh, though, and he\u2019s a scary draw [for rivals].\u201d<\/p>\n Former Davis Cup stalwart Wayne Arthurs added: \u201cIs a 20 per cent Kyrgios going to rock up to the Aussie Open? I don\u2019t think he will play. But by the middle of next year, at Wimbledon, it might be time.\u201d<\/p>\n The knee problem that caused Kyrgios to pull out of this year\u2019s Australian and French opens is no longer the issue. Instead, the torn wrist ligament suffered at the Mallorca Open in June threatens to derail his quest for a grand slam singles title.<\/p>\n An ATP medical expert, Todd Ellenbecker, told this masthead that wrist injuries were an occupational hazard in tennis, explaining that proper rest and recovery were essential to avoid recurrence.<\/p>\n \u201cAn injury to the wrist can occur from one shot or one serve [but] it is usually the result of repetitive microtrauma to the structures of the wrist \u2013 most commonly tendons, but also ligaments,\u201d Ellenbecker said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe highly repetitive nature of tennis competition and training lends itself to overuse injuries throughout the body. The tendons of the wrist are very vulnerable to the repetitive stresses of all tennis strokes, and can cause, initially, inflammation and pain and, with continued overload, lead to degeneration of the tendon requiring more extensive rehabilitation and recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyrgios\u2019 caution in figuring out when to return has merit, given tennis players\u2019 chequered history with wrist problems. Neither del Potro nor Thiem was able to replicate his previous heights after wrist woes.<\/p>\n Del Potro, who had issues with both his wrists, eventually retired last year but by then it was the toll of multiple knee surgeries, while Thiem \u2013 once a top-five staple and perennial grand slam contender \u2013 is still persisting but barely a top-100 player these days.<\/p>\n Raducanu, the 2021 US Open winner, has not played since April because of a recurring wrist problem, including undergoing surgery on both hands and one of her ankles, while fellow Brit Laura Robson missed 17 months with a wrist issue before retiring prematurely after myriad injuries.<\/p>\n Other big names to have surgery, miss significant time, or have lingering issues from a wrist injury include Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Taylor Fritz, Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sloane Stephens and Marketa Vondrousova.<\/p>\n Triple grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka, Fritz, Daniil Medvedev and fellow player Zizou Bergs, who tore a ligament in his left wrist, all blame constant ball changes for the wrist plague.<\/p>\n This masthead asked Fritz this week about that stance, and he remains \u201c100 per cent\u201d convinced his wrist issues occurred only after using different balls from the previous tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cI know my body really well, and I don\u2019t know if overuse is also a factor in it, but I\u2019ve been playing for eight years and I never really had wrist issues prior to this year,\u201d the American said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt always flared up when we switched balls. It got bad originally at grass-court season, when we switched from the Wilsons at the French Open to the Slazengers, then it started to get a bit better, but we switched to a Tecnifibre ball that we\u2019ve never played with before at Washington, and it got really bad again.<\/p>\n Taylor Fritz has also had wrist issues.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a problem they need to fix. Some balls, when we switched, were a bit softer, which felt a bit better on the wrist, then you switch to balls that are really hard, and they feel like a brick when they hit your racquet.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding further intrigue to Kyrgios\u2019 situation was he did not use his protected ranking of No.21 to enter next month\u2019s slam, which was not a shock but means he will need a wildcard \u2013 that is, if he even intends to play. Australian Open boss Craig Tiley did little to raise hopes of a Kyrgios comeback this summer, saying a fortnight ago that the Canberran \u201cwants to do the best he possibly can\u201d and that his decision would \u201cbe determined closer to the event\u201d.<\/p>\n For Kyrgios\u2019 part, he reiterated last month that he wanted to return to the tour and was doing everything possible to do so, with his career-best 2022 season, including making the US Open quarter-finals, driving him most of all.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Alexander Zverev, who fought his way back inside the top 10 after months out recovering from a significant ankle injury, is one player inspiring Kyrgios, but he conceded in a commentary appearance on the Tennis Channel that things would have to go his way.<\/p>\n Outside those types of statements, there have been few, and only vague, updates from the Kyrgios camp on his progress. That is not to say he is keeping a low profile \u2013 far from it.<\/p>\n Kyrgios popped up on Piers Morgan\u2019s show last week and was in Miami this week discussing his pickleball venture, while he floods his social media followers with daily posts, typically regurgitating trick-shot or video-game highlights, showing off his social life, or spruiking his latest endorsement deal.<\/p>\n He is OnlyFans\u2019 newest content creator, for those who missed it. One of Kyrgios\u2019 posts, soon enough, will provide clarity on his tennis plans, or lack thereof, this summer.<\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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