September 26, (THEWILL) –Â Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios shocked the tennis world with hints of retirement plans after losing to Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Laver Cup in Boston.
Representing Team World against the Europeans, Kyrgios stumbled to a 6-3 6-4 loss. It was the fifth consecutive singles defeat for the 26-year-old from Canberra.
Speaking during the post-match comments, Kyrgios said he might never play in another Laver Cup, adding that his time as a professional tennis player could be coming to an end a lot sooner than expected.
He also went public with his need to travel home to Australia to be with his sick mother immediately after the Laver Cup..
Kyrgios said: “This is my probably my last Laver Cup. I don’t know how much longer I will be in tennis. This is my last event of the year. I will get my body right ahead of the Aus Open.
“My mum is not doing too well with her health. I’d like to go back and see her.”
It was a bombshell of an announcement given that the Australian is only 26 and many professional tennis players compete on the international tour well into their late 30s, even into their 40s. For context, Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player, is 34, while former world number one Roger Federer is 40.
By that metric, Kyrgios should ordinarily have at least a decade left on tour, but the Australian does not appear to be keen on hanging around the sport for that long.
He said: “As long as I’m on the court, I will try and give my best, but I’m not going to lie and say that I’m going to plan to play four or five more years on tour.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
