Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of Wimbledon after tearing a ligament in his wrist.
Kyrgios announced the news via social media on Monday morning. The world No.31 reached last year’s Wimbledon final, losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
The 28-year-old’s fitness had already been called into question ahead of this year’s tournament after he underwent knee surgery in January.
“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during the week of [the Mallorca Open]. As a precaution I had it scanned, and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist,” he said on Instagram.
“I tried everything to be able to play, and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.
“I’ll be back and as always I appreciate the support from all my fans.”
Kyrgios has played only one competitive match in the past seven months due to the injury, which caused him to miss both the Australian Open and French Open.
He was set to face Belgium’s David Goffin in the opening round on Monday evening (AEST). Speaking over the weekend, Kyrgios told reporters he was “almost dreading” a return to competitive tennis following his knee surgery and would not be putting unrealistic expectations on himself.
“I feel as good as I probably could feel at the moment,” Krygios said at the All-England tennis club on Sunday (AEST).
“My body is feeling OK. I have worked extremely hard to play, and [I’m] super-excited to see how it goes.”
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