Japanese No.1 Kei Nishikori has decided to shut down his season early due to ongoing injury-related issues.
The former US Open finalist has pulled out of tournaments in Paris and Sofia due to a shoulder injury that has bothered him in recent weeks. Bringing an end to what has been a difficult season for the former top 10 player. Nishikori hasn’t played a match since his second round loss to Stefano Travaglia at the French Open.
“I have decided to finish my year,” Nishikori confirmed via his official app.
During what has been an injury-stricken season, the 30-year-old has only been able to play a total of six matches across four tournaments. Scoring wins over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rome and Dan Evans in Roland Garros. Nishikori missed the start of the year due to a right elbow injury and didn’t return to competitive action until after the five-month break in competitive tennis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also forced to miss the US Open after testing positive for the virus days before the event got underway.
After a nightmare 2020, Nishikori is hoping that his extended off-season will help place him on good footing going into next year where he is set to start playing again in Australia.
“I am excited to be back on the court but also have to make sure I am 100 percent when I play matches. Coming back after elbow surgery was not easy and came with some ups and downs as expected,” he wrote.
“My shoulder is still bothering me a little bit so I have now decided to skip Paris and Sofia and put my full focus on 2021. This is obviously an important year coming up. Thank you for all your support and see you soon.”
Despite his lack of match play Nishikori is still ranked in the world’s top 40 at 37th thanks to changes to the ranking system due to the pandemic. However, he is still at his lowest ranking position since April 2018.
Nishikori ends his year with prize money earnings of just $164,635 which is the 161st highest amount among ATP players as of October 26th.
