Nick Kyrgios sends injury scare through camp two days out from his Indian Wells opener

After months of getting himself ready for singles tennis, Nick Kyrgios has sent an injury scare through his camp, two days out from his Indian Wells opener.

Nick Kyrgios has sent a scare through his camp just two days out from his first round match at Indian Wells after appearing to reinjure his surgically-repaired wrist during practice.

The polarising Australian tennis star is due to face qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp on Friday morning (AEST) but his fitness is again a concern after calling an early end to his hit-up with Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro on Wednesday.

In footage posted to social media, Kyrgios can be seen clutching at his right wrist for more than a minute while appearing to communicate with members of his team the mechanism in which he was hurt.

He then walks to the net to shake hands with Shimabukuro, before taking a seat on the side of the court.

Nick Kyrgios was seen grabbing his wrist.

It was the same wrist that kept Kyrgios sidelined for 18 months, requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation before his long-awaited return to tennis in December at the Brisbane International.

The 29-year-old has not played since losing in straight sets to Brit Jacob Fearnley in the first round of the Australian Open on January 13.

Kyrgios entered that match with an abdominal injury, later revealing he came close to withdrawing but “didn’t want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire”.

🚨 Enciende las alarmas: Nick Kyrgios, que de ganar su debut ante un tenista salido de la Qualy, enfrentará a Novak Djokovic en Indian Wells, debió parar su entrenamiento de hoy con el japonés Sho Shimabukuro debido a nuevas molestias en su muñeca. pic.twitter.com/RRu6mE6xOF

— Séptimo Game (@Septimo_Game) March 5, 2025

Friday’s first round match against van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells would mark 53 days between competitive singles matches for Kyrgios, who has spent the better part of two months building back his fitness after the abdominal and wrist injuries in January.

He used his protected ranking to enter the prestigious Masters 1000 event in California, where he has twice made the quarter-finals.

Should he defeat van de Zandschulp, Kyrgios would meet Novak Djokovic in the second round.

Kyrgios and Djokovic were also on the same side of the draw in Brisbane, however the Aussie was ousted in the first round by Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Kyrgios boasts a 2-1 head-to-head winning record over the 24-time grand slam champion, though Djokovic won their most recent meeting – the 2022 Wimbledon final.

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios sends injury scare through camp two days out from his Indian Wells opener