Kei Nishikori missed his fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament after withdrawing from the Australian Open.
Nishikori fell outside the top 200 after retiring from his first match of the year in Canberra, but he was still entered into Australian Open qualifying.
However, the former US Open finalist was unable to compete in Melbourne, with Nishikori withdrawing from his Australian Open qualifying match just hours before it was scheduled to get underway.
Nishikori has just returned to competition at a Challenger tournament in France, where he has revealed the injury that prevented him from competing at the Australian Open.
Kei Nishikori reveals the real reason why he missed the Australian Open
Nishikori has dealt with many injuries throughout his career, which has subsequently forced him to undergo surgeries on his foot, wrist, elbow and hip.
In recent years, Nishikori has been dealing with a shoulder injury, which he confirmed was what forced him out of the Australian Open after qualifying for the Challenger tournament in Thionville.
“I injured my shoulder and had to recover for almost two months,” Nishikori told L’Equipe. “I had planned to play again in France during the last two weeks (in Lille and Saint-Brieuc), but it was still too soon and I wasn’t able to manage it. Fortunately, I was able to compete here.”
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After winning both of his qualifying matches, Nishikori was asked how he felt physically, as he explained his decision to compete at a level below the main ATP Tour.
“It’s not bad, but I haven’t played in a long time and my muscles are still a bit rusty,” responded Nishikori. “My body needs to get used to it again.
“I’ve always liked playing Challengers when I’m coming back from injury. It’s something I’ve done before, when I was younger. And it often worked out well. It’s better than playing ATP 250s and losing in the first round. Let’s just say it’s easier.”
Kei Nishikori suggests if he has any goals for the 2026 season
As a result of his limited number of matches over the past year, Nishikori is currently ranked as the world number 284.
However, the 36-year-old has stated that he does not have any ranking goals right now and instead Nishikori just wants to focus on playing more matches.
“There are no goals for me this year,” said the former world number four. “I just need to play points, string together matches. But there aren’t really any specific goals, neither in terms of ranking nor in terms of results.”
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Despite returning to winning ways in Thionville, Nishikori is set to drop down the rankings as he is defending 80 points from his results in Indian Wells and Phoenix last year.
This could cause Nishikori to drop outside the top 400 in the ATP rankings for the first time since August 2024.
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