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

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.