Nick Kyrgios drops Australian Open bomb after opening round loss

Nick Kyrgios has dropped a bomb surrounding his future at the Australian Open and it is not what fans want to hear.

Nick Kyrgios says he can’t see himself playing men’s singles again at the Australian Open.

The 29-year-old was knocked out in the first round of the tournament on Monday by Brit Jacob Fearnley (7-6, 6-3, 7-6).

A downcast Kyrgios told reporters at a post-match press conference, while he planned to play other grand slams this year, this was likely his last match at Melbourne Park on the singles side of the draw.

“Realistically, I can’t see myself playing a singles match here again,” he said.

“It’s hard. When you’re competing for the biggest tournaments in the world and you’re struggling to win sets physically, it’s pretty tough.

“But I’ve still got a long year ahead. I’m trusting the process that I can still be able to do some cool things this year at some stage.”

Nick Kyrgios said he can’t see himself playing singles at the Australian Open again. Picture: Australian Open / YouTube

Costeen Hatzi, Nick Kyrgios’ girlfriend, Daniel Horsfall, his manager and Elliot Loney are seen on Monday night. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Kyrgios explained he didn’t find tennis enjoyable while his body was struggling.

“It’s not enjoyable for me to go out there and not think tactically, enjoying the atmosphere, where am I going to hit the ball,” he said.

“It’s like ‘what am I doing to manage my body, this is painful, I can’t do this because this hurts’. That’s not tennis to me. That’s not sport.”

He added: “I’m one of the biggest servers on tour and I’m getting outserved tonight. My average serve speed was beneath 200km/h. I mean, Nick Kyrgios without his serve is probably not a threat to many players.”

He played through an abdominal strain and lost to Britain's Jacob Fearnley in the first round of the tournament on Monday. Picture: William West / AFP

Kyrgios said his focus was now on not taking anything for granted, and that was why he walked out on to John Cain Arena without headphones and music on Monday.

He “wanted to hear the crowd”.

The roaring crowd did not let him down, with the chair umpire having to ask for quiet multiple times during the match.

Kyrgios said the fans’ support is what got him through as he struggled with an abdominal strain.

“They were tagging me in stories beforehand, like ‘we waited four or five hours to line up’. That was a big motivation for me tonight to not throw the towel in,” he said.

“There was no way my abdominal was going to get better. We knew that. I really enjoyed the way the crowd gave me energy. I wanted to give them two-and-a-half hours of tennis rather than a retirement. That’s s***.”

He said the fans motivated him to keep pushing through the match. Picture: William West / AFP

All hope isn’t lost for fans who want to watch Kyrgios at the Australian Open.

Kyrgios confirmed he will play doubles with fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The pair, dubbed the “Special Ks”, won the Australian Open men’s doubles title in 2022.

“I think we owe it to each other to go out there and play,” Kyrgios said.

Earlier, Kokkinakis said he was going to get out on the court with Kyrgios, “unless my arms are falling off the bone”.

“We owe it to the public. The support they’ve shown us, how much they love when we play,” Kokkinakis said.

Fans eat up King Kyrgios’ return

Despite the disappointing result for the Aussie, fans were loving every minute of his return on court.

In the middle of the seventh game of the third set, Kyrgios produced a tweener and a behind the back shot before breaking serve and taking the 4-3 advantage.

While Fearnley kept his cool among the chaos, those watching on weren’t happy with many labelling the antics as “disrespectful”.One wrote on X: “The Australian fans at the Kyrgios match in the Australian Open are so disrespectful to his opponent.”

Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a return against USA's Nishesh Basavareddy during their men's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 13, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

All the main results from a huge day 2 at Melbourne Park

Novak Djokovic has moved into the second round after defeating Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

It wasn’t a walk in the park however for the 24-time grand slam winner who was taken down in the opening set by the 19-year-old.

Basavareddy continued his fight in the second set, but the Serbian superstar clicked into gear and began turning the screws on his younger opponent.

Djokovic let out a monster roar as he claimed the second set as Basavareddy was hit hard by cramps. Thankfully the American was able to continue, but it was one-way traffic as Djokovic moved on.

It keeps alive Djokovic’s dream of capturing an absurd 11th Australian Open crown as he chases his 25th grand slam.

Grigor Dimitrov became the first top 10 seeded player to be eliminated from the 2025 Australian Open.

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory against Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko in the men's singles match on day two of the Australian Open (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

The Bulgarian pulled the pin on his opening round contest after being behind 5-7, 1-2 to lucky loser Francesco Passaro.

It makes it the third straight major he has retired from.

Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz has punched his ticket into the second round with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexander Shevchenko.

The third seeded superstar burst out of the blocks before falling behind 5-3 in the second set. But he quickly flipped the script and showed why he’s a favourite to reign supreme in 2025.

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios drops Australian Open bomb after opening round loss