Nick Kyrgios opens up about future, family, plans as he prepares for his return to tennis
Nick Kyrgios has opened up about his future family plans like never before as he questions why he is throwing himself back into the “pressure cooker” environment of top-level tennis.
Nick Kyrgios admits he questions why he is throwing himself back into the “pressure cooker” environment of top-level tennis given he could have walked away content with his career.
Kyrgios will make his return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International in December, capping an 18-month absence from the sport with a wrist held together with a “piece of string” after a torturous reconstruction.
For a man who has been open about his struggles of being a bright star in the professional sporting spotlight, a return may seem baffling given he could have walked away content with what he’d already achieved.
“I’ve had a great career, you know, achieved a lot of things, and everything’s been an amazing bonus, so, yeah, I do ask myself, why am I putting myself in that position of such pressure?” he said.
“It’s like you’re putting yourself in the pressure cooker, the slow cooker, you’re locked
in the pressure cooker again and it’s like, why are you doing that? You don’t have to.”
Kyrgios has found success off the court as a commentator and been able to spend precious time with family, sharing moments that he has so often missed while stuck in the grind of life on the tour.
“Being an Australian tennis player, you miss significant moments,” he said.
“I barely spend time my nephew, spending time with family, but that’s the sacrifice of being an Australian tennis player – you’re on the road for seven, eight months of the year.
“Being injured, that’s been one of the positives, is being able to stay home and actually spend quality time with my family.
“I feel like I’ve almost caught up on those moments that I was missing. I just don’t take anything for granted these days.”
Kyrgios recently posted a photo visiting his mother in hospital – “it’s nothing major, thank god” – and is happy to be able to spend time around her and brother Christos, who is based in Brisbane and has two children, including two-year-old George, who happily posed with his uncle on Pat Rafter Arena on Friday.
Kyrgios, whose long-term partner Costeen Hatzi was also at Friday’s announcement, wants a family of his own – “I want to have five, I want a whole basketball team of kids” – so is it worth throwing himself back into the stress of the tennis tour?
“I’m asking myself right now maybe, maybe, do I just not play? Maybe, maybe I just let it go, and maybe I stick to commentating, but I think there’s a lot left that I have to give to the sport, to my fans, and even to the people that don’t enjoy what I bring to the court,” he said.
“I think they want to just see it one more time.
“I just want someone to feel something when they watch TV, whether it’s ‘I hate that guy’ or ‘I love that guy’, just feel something.
“And I think that’s sport. I feel like I’m still in great shape and I’m able to play at the level.”
Kyrgios will be the drawcard but tournament director Cam Pearson announced other key Australian talent would join him in the line-up, with Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson – both top-30 players – and Ajla Tomljanovic, would join him in Brisbane.
Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) chief operating office Juliet Alabaster said the tournament would attract more than 50,000 unique visitors to the city who would spend an estimated $6 million in the local economy.
“That is a win for our city,” she said.
“We’ve got fans and teams staying in our hotels, enjoying our restaurants and bars and getting out and exploring our city and wonderful region.”
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