Nick Kyrgios’ ‘career could be done’ claims former Wimbledon finalist
Nick Kyrgios has been warned about coming back too early by two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis, with his compatriot suggesting it could be ‘very dangerous’ if he doesn’t rehab his knee properly.
Kyrgios has played only one match on the ATP tour this year, losing in straight sets to Yibing Wu in Stuttgart, with the 28-year-old undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee back in January.
Despite playing the grass court warm-up event in Stuttgart, Kyrgios announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon where he was the finalist in 2022, after revealing he had also torn a ligament in his wrist.
Sorry to hear your news @NickKyrgios – wishing you a swift recovery and hope to see you back on our courts next year 🙏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/R0zl7i74Bd
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2023
Fellow Aussie and 2003 Wimbledon finalist Philippoussis has offered Kyrgios some advice, “He’s not even close to being fit, and I knew straight away he was in trouble.”
The 46-year-old continued, “If he comes back too early, which we have seen, and if he’s not putting in the work physically on that knee to strengthen that joint, unfortunately I’m not sure how much we’re going to see him.
“You have to give yourself every opportunity to come back and if you’re a big guy and get a knee issue, you better get it right before you come back because it’s just going to make it worse, you’re going to be out further and your career could be done. He’s got to fear for himself.”
Philippoussis can relate to Kyrgios having undergone multiple knee surgeries of his own, “I’ve become a knee expert after six knee surgeries and it’s something you can’t mess around with. You’re talking about your movement.
“My worry for him years ago was ‘is he putting in the work physically?’ and if he was to get that first major injury, I’m not saying it could be career-ending but it could be very dangerous if you don’t put in that rehab work.”
He added, “I don’t care how good your hands are, if you’re not getting to the ball, and you’re one-and-a-half, two steps slower, against any top-100, 200 player, it’s going to be tough out there.”
Although Kyrgios has been warned not to return too quickly, the No.33 is entered into ATP events in Washington and Toronto, with the former beginning on the 31st July.
Nick Kyrgios and his points to defend this year
As Kyrgios prepares to comeback to the tour once again, we at Tennishead wanted to breakdown the ranking points that he has to defend for the latter part of this year:
Kyrgios current total ranking points: 1175 (No.33)
2022 Points to defend:
Washington: Champion – 500 points
Toronto/Montreal: Quarter-finalist – 180 points
Cincinnati: Second Round – 45 points
US Open: Quarter-finalist – 360 points
Tokyo: Quarter-finalist – 90 points
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