You’d be forgiven for assuming Nick Kyrgios was calling it a day after he penned a candid op-ed alluding to that very possibility earlier this week.
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald, the 28-year-old Australian tennis superstar shed light on certain conversations with agent Stuart Duguid, while cursing his body for holding him back, and noting that the “curtain has to close at some point.” Hell, the headline itself quite blatantly read: ‘I’m contemplating retirement.’
But just hours after the revelation achieved virality, and the follow-up headlines were churned out by the dozens, Nick Kyrgios clarified that he wasn’t retiring just yet, while assuring the public there’s still some fight left in this dawg.
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“Attention, I am not retiring. Please don’t spread this garbage. I’m coming back and will be lighting up courts soon!” Kyrgios posted on his Instagram stories.
He elaborated shortly thereafter with a video: “I’ve woken up today and realised about some articles going around and saying that I’m retired and that I’m not going to play anymore. I just want to just clear it up, it’s absolute nonsense.”
“Yes, the last year has been tough with injury, my knee, my wrist, but I’m hungry as ever, constantly rehabbing, in the gym. Part of the reason why I’m commentating and doing all these things around [the Australian Open] is to still feel that fire and still be a part of it.
“I’m coming back… there’s plenty left in the tank. Don’t stress.”
Despite this, we shouldn’t expect an appearance from the Aussie battler for this coming Summer Olympics in Paris. And it has everything to do with the poor treatment he received from the Australian Olympic Committee and former chef de mission Kitty Chiller.
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“To ban me from playing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games was a disgrace. I was No.13 at the time and had a genuine chance at winning a medal. For them to forbid me from representing my country for behavioural reasons is something that I just can’t forget,” wrote Kyrgios.
“I wanted to play for my country, I can’t say that I still have that desire. And let’s be honest, I haven’t exactly felt like Australia has wanted me to represent it either. I’ve said before, I often feel more at home away from home.”
One thing’s for certain: an operator as electric, entertaining, and objectively talented as Nick Kyrgios is a net positive for the world of professional tennis.
