Australian Open Director shares what Nick Kyrgios has told him about his injury ahead of tournament starting

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Nick Kyrgios has caused concern after withdrawing from an upcoming exhibition match with Novak Djokovic.

Kyrgios was set to play against Djokovic on Thursday January 9 as part of the build-up to the Australian Open.

However, that will no longer be going ahead after Kyrgios took to social media to reveal that he had suffered an abdominal injury.

This is not the only issue that he appears to be nursing, after Kyrgios revealed that his wrist was also causing problems.

Kyrgios has spoken about wanting to play Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open, but it seems that his participation at the Melbourne major is currently up in the air.

Australian Open Director has no concerns after speaking to Nick Kyrgios about new injury

Despite Kyrgios himself casting doubt over whether he will be fit in time for the Australian Open, tournament director Craig Tiley has played down these concerns after speaking to the former doubles champion.

“I think it’s just precautionary, that’s the word we’ve got from him,” Tiley told News.com.au. “Nick’s not the only one not doing some of their pre-planned matches over the next few days. There’s no concerns ahead of the Open.”

Kyrgios is also scheduled to play doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open, the partner who he won the title with back in 2022.

The Australian Open singles main draw gets underway on Sunday January 12, with Kyrgios set to find out his first round opponent on Thursday January 9.

When did Nick Kyrgios last play at a Grand Slam?

While it had been 18 months since Kyrgios had played an official match on the ATP Tour, the 29-year-old has spent even longer away from Grand Slam tournaments.

The last time that Kyrgios played at a major tournament was at the US Open over two years ago, having reached the last eight before losing to Karen Khachanov.

Due to the best-of-five set nature of men’s singles Grand Slam matches, Kyrgios will be more wary of aggravating his existing injuries any further.

Kyrgios achieved his best Grand Slam result in 2022, having reached the Wimbledon final before losing to the aforementioned Djokovic.