Kyrgios withdraws from Wimbledon (wrist injury)

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, citing a wrist injury.

Kyrgios, who lost last year’s men’s singles final to Novak Djokovic, has been sidelined through most of 2023 because of a knee injury. The knee injury and subsequent surgery ruled him out of the Australian Open and French Open, but he had planned to play at Wimbledon, where he was set to be the No. 30 seed.

He told reporters on Sunday that he was fit for the championship, but just hours later released a statement on Instagram announcing his withdrawal from the tournament with a new injury.

“I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year,” he wrote. “I tried my hardest to be ready after my surgery and to be able to step on the Wimbledon courts again. During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during the week of Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.

“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon — I’ll be back.”

Kyrgios told reporters on Sunday that there were “question marks” over his fitness. He said his preparation was far from ideal compared to last year, but he was feeling “super excited” and ready to try to win his first men’s singles Grand Slam event.

Kyrgios’ withdrawal comes a day before his planned opening-round match against David Goffin on Monday. It was to be his second men’s singles match this year after sustaining 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Yibing Wu in Stuttgart last month.