Nick Kyrgios had to retire after the second set of his third-round match with Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon on Saturday because of an abdominal injury, which is also likely to end his doubles partnership with Venus Williams at the All England Club.
Kyrgios called the trainer and had a medical timeout during the first set, and though he closed out the set 6-2, he was struggling from the beginning of the second set. After several discussions with the trainer, he decided to call it a day.
“I can’t serve,” Kyrgios said to his trainer. “I’m literally just turning my arm over. I can’t serve more than 120 [mph]. It’s getting worse. I don’t want to tear it and not be able to play for 12 years.”
Afterward, Kyrgios said he will likely also pull out of his mixed doubles pairing with Williams due to the injury, saying he needs time to recover.
“It’s heartbreaking, honestly,” Kyrgios said. “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. I just got goosebumps thinking [about] the fact I might have to tell Venus Williams I can’t play mixed doubles because of injuries. It’s brutal for me. I’m respectful in the fact that I’ve now taken another day of her time. She’s been here. She could have been planning other things. It’s brutal.”
He added that he would be open to reuniting with Williams at the US Open.
It was a sad end to a good week for Kyrgios, who had not played since the Australian Open as he had chosen to stay at home rather than travel and play tournaments, some without fans and most in a bubble due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 26-year-old beat Ugo Humbert, the No. 21 seed, in the first round and was ahead against No. 16 seed Auger-Aliassime when he suffered the injury.
“It could have got[ten] a lot worse if I kept playing on it today,” Kyrgios said. “It’s an acute injury. If I kept playing, I probably could have made the tear worse. I wouldn’t have been able to play the U.S. swing. It just would have been stupid.”
Kyrgios also said he hasn’t made a decision on whether he will play at the Tokyo Olympics, hinting that crowd restrictions may convince him to stay away.
“If I’m to play the Olympics, I’ve said it numerous times, I want to do it the right way,” he said. “I want to do it with full crowds, with my guests there. I want to do it when I’m able to watch other athletes do their thing.”
The Australian was on the Olympic entry list released by the International Tennis Federation on Thursday.
Things got off to a rocky start before Saturday’s match when Kyrgios realized he left his grass court shoes in the locker room. The mishap forced the two players to stand around for a couple of minutes before they could start their warm-up after a Wimbledon employee came running out with Kyrgios’ shoes.
“The one day I thought I was being a professional,” Kyrgios joked, pointing out that he had all his rackets and clothes with him. “Walking out here so confidently and then, bang. Left the shoes in the locker room.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.