As Nick Kyrgios ponders his return to the ATP Tour for the first time in more than 18 months in Brisbane next week, the Australian can’t quite put his finger on the right emotion.
“I'm obviously a little bit, I don't know if I'd call it nervous… When I was hitting on stadium, playing [Reilly Opelka] that’s also had a couple injuries, I guess we just reflected… It was surreal to be back out there. I took it all in," said the 2018 Brisbane champion.
“I'm really excited to just go out there and play, just play tennis. I saw Novak in the gym, playing doubles with him, a lot to be excited about that I'm able to get out there and compete again.”
Battling a debilitating wrist injury that caused excruciating pain to do simple things like turn a doorknob or open a car door, Kyrgios underwent secret wrist surgery in Adelaide in September 2023 at the hands of Dr. Michael Sandow at the Wakefield Orthopaedic Clinic.
According to previous reporting by The Canberra Times, Kyrgios’ wrist injury could be traced to a 2015 fall at Indian Wells in a match against Grigor Dimitrov.
Years later, as the condition worsened, an MRI showed a full rupture of the scapholunate ligament, which provides important stablisation for the wrist, similar to the role played by the ACL in the knee.
“Where I was at 18 months ago, and I had the [wrist] surgery. It's been about 16 months. I honestly never thought I'd be back playing at this level. Even entering an event like this, preparing, doing all the right things," said the 29-year-old, who begins the season without a PIF ATP Ranking.
Rivalling interest in his singles return against fellow massive server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Kyrgios’ pairing with former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in doubles also has sparked huge attention.
“He kept messaging me over and over again. I was just like, I'll give him a little handout and give him the pleasure of playing doubles with me,” Kyrgios quipped.
“It's going to be a lot of fun. Look, kid from Canberra gets to play with the greatest of all time in his hometown in front of the fans is pretty special. It's something that I'm able to tell people when it's all said and done that I played doubles with him. It's pretty special.”
"Everyone thinks it's a pleasure playing with him, it's actually a pleasure playing with me" 😆@NickKyrgios 🤝 @DjokerNole #BrisbaneTennis https://t.co/brlLB7MG0P pic.twitter.com/xYA7GQOs5c
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) December 28, 2024
Kyrgios said that Saturday’s practise with 6’ 11” Opelka was an ideal test for his wrist ahead of his return match against Mpetshi Perricard, who averaged a Tour-best 19 aces a match last season.
“It was definitely a step up returning that serve from the practice court,” Kyrgios said. “But it was good to go right in the heat of the pace of the ATP Tour. He's got one of the biggest serves. To test my wrist out against that... I play Perricard, which is arguably the biggest serve on tour. It was good preparation.
“I actually booked Reilly a week ago not knowing the draw at all, and it came out today, so... Really good preparation.”
Main draw play at the Brisbane International presented by Evie begins Sunday. Main draw play the ATP 250 in Hong Kong begins Monday.
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