Nick Kyrgios drops another retirement hint after ending season early

After contesting his last tournament for the year, Nick Kyrgios has given his biggest hint yet he won’t be playing tennis too much longer.

Nick Kyrgios has again hinted he plans to retire from tennis early as he revealed he had played his last tournament for the year.

The Australian is in Boston representing Team World in the Laver Cup event, where he was defeated by Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 on Sunday (AEST).

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Kyrgios and American John Isner also lost their doubles match to Team Europe, going down 7-6 6-3 10-4 to Tsitsipas and Russia’s Andrey Rublev.

The 26-year-old said the Laver Cup would be his last tour outing for the year, as he plans to return to Australia to spend time with his mother, who is unwell.

“This is my last event of the year. I will get my body right ahead of the Aus Open,” Kyrgios said.

“I need to go back home, I’ve been travelling for four and half months now, my Mum’s not doing too well with her health, I’d like to go back and see her. I want to spend time with my family.”

Nick Kyrgios (right) has played his last tournament for the year. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for Laver Cup)

Kyrgios also cast doubt on his long-term future in tennis, saying this year’s Laver Cup would likely be his last and he doesn’t plan on playing on tour for another four or five more years.

“This is probably my last Laver Cup,” he said.

“I don’t know how much longer I will be in tennis.

“As long as I’m on the court I’ll try and give my best but I’m not going to lie and say I plan to play for four or five more years on tour, that’s just not me.

“I’m not one of those players now who’s going to go hunting for points or hunting for accolades or anything like that.

“I’ve got nothing left to prove to myself — I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved.

“This is about my eighth year on tour and I feel like I’ve been around for a long, long time.

“You see the (Alexander) Zverevs and (Dominic) Thiems and all that, but I was on tour before these guys were on tour.

“I always wanted to come on tour to beat the best players, show my personality and create a platform where I was able to help others and I feel like that’s what I’ve done.”

Nick Kyrgios has repeatedly hinted he plans to retire early. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images for Laver Cup)

Kyrgios made the third round of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon but has otherwise struggled for consistency on the tour this year.

His loss to Tsitsipas at the Laver Cup was his fifth consecutive singles defeat and leaves him teetering on the edge of falling out of the world’s top 100.

Kyrgios’ current ranking of 95 is his lowest ranking since June 2014 when he burst onto the scene with a sensational run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

The Canberran has previously made it clear he intends on retiring from professional tennis by the age of 30.

Speaking at the Washington Open last month, Kyrgios said at every tournament he plays, it feels like it could be his last time there.

“Like every time I’m at a tournament, I feel like it could be my last time I’m ever going to be here,” he said.

“I don’t know. I don’t know where I’m at. I feel weird. I feel strange about my career at the moment.”

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios drops another retirement hint after ending season early