Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from Wimbledon on the eve of the 2023 Championships through injury.
The Australian, runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles draw last summer, released a statement late on Sunday night explaining that he had been recently diagnosed with a torn ligament having suffered from wrist pain.
30th seed Kyrgios regretted that he had not had enough time to recover from the issue before Wimbledon, where he had been due to face David Goffin in a first-round match on No1 Court on Monday afternoon.
“I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year,” Kyrgios said.
“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.
“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.”
Belgium’s Goffin will instead now face an as-yet unconfirmed lucky loser over on No2 Court, with men’s fourth seed Casper Ruud’s opening match against Laurent Lokoli moved to No1 Court.
Kyrgios’ withdrawal from Wimbledon was his third in succession, with the world No33 having also pulled out of the recent Mallorca and Halle Opens as he also recovered from a serious knee injury that required surgery in January.
Kyrgios’ only appearance at an ATP Tour event all year was at the Stuttgart Open in June, where he lost to China’s Wu Yibing in the first round. He also played no part in his home Grand Slam at the Australian Open or the French Open.
In 2022, Kyrgios was the first unseeded player to reach a Grand Slam final since 2008, with Rafael Nadal withdrawing from their semi-final contest due to an abdominal injury.
He was the first player of the open era to get a walkover into the Wimbledon final and the first Australian male to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.
