Nick Kyrgios of Australia during practice at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, June 30, 2023. /CFP
Nick Kyrgios of Australia has withdrawn from the Wimbledon Championships men's singles event because of a wrist injury, the player announced in a statement on Instagram on Sunday.
"I'm really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year," Kyrgios wrote. "I tried my hardest to be ready after my surgery and to be able to step on the Wimbledon courts again. During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during the week of Mallorca. As a precaution, I had it scanned, and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist."
Kyrgios lost to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in Wimbledon's men's singles final last year. He skipped most of the competitions in 2023, including the Australian Open and the French Open, due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery but had planned to play at All England Club.
As the No. 30 seed, Kyrgios on Sunday told reporters that he "had the most ideal preparation possible" but decided to quit hours later.
Nick Kyrgios of Australia competes in the Wimbledon Championships men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 10, 2022. /CFP
"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," he said.
David Goffin, who was supposed to play Kyrgios in the men's singles first-round match on Monday, will face a "lucky loser" in the coming competition.
In Kyrgios' only match this year, he lost to Wu Yibing of China 5-7 and 3-6 in the Stuttgart Open men's singles first round at Tennis Club Weissenhof in Stuttgart, Germany on June 13.
As the reigning champion and the men's singles No. 2 seed of the tournament, Djokovic will play Pedro Cachin of Argentina in the first round. The No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will face Jeremy Chardy of France in his first match.