The 2023 Wimbledon Championships suffered a major blow on the eve of the tournament, as defending finalist Nick Kyrgios was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a wrist injury.
KNick Nyrgios’ Unfortunate Announcement
Kyrgios was in doubt throughout the lead-up tournaments due to a continued significant knee injury. After a poor first-round loss to Yibing Wu in Stuttgart, Kyrgios had to withdraw from his subsequent grass-court tune-up events due to the knee. After heavy training in Mallorca, Kyrgios triggered a wrist injury that prevented him from playing. The injury came back as a torn ligament in his wrist, typically requiring around a month of recovery.
The result means that David Goffin will now play a lucky loser, as the Belgian’s match will be relegated from Court 1 to Court 2. Casper Ruud will now play Laurent Lokoli on Court 1, following Iga Swiatek’s match against Lin Zhu. The withdrawal helps Andrey Rublev, the highest seed in the seventh quarter of the Wimbledon draw.
Due to the controversy surrounding Russian and Belarusian bans in 2022, Kyrgios won’t have to defend what would traditionally be a hefty 1200 ranking points. However, Kyrgios will likely drop out of the Top 30 due to other players building up points over the next two weeks. The Aussie has repeatedly mentioned retiring on his own terms, and retirement may be more likely if the Aussie is unable to play at a high level.
No timetable was released as to when Kyrgios will compete again, but it would be great for the sport if fans could witness his return at the US Open. Kyrgios is defending many points over the course of the summer, as he’s only played one completed match since last September.
“I’ll be back, and as always, I appreciate the support from all my fans,” the Aussie wrote in his withdrawal announcement via Instagram.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
