Nick Kyrgios believes he still has a point to prove to his critics after confirming details of his return to professional tennis.
The former Wimbledon finalist and world No.13 has only played one Tour-level match since November 2022 due to various injury setbacks. Kyrgios has experienced problems with his knee, foot and wrist. During his absence from the court, the Australian has worked as a pundit, as well as an on-court interviewer.
During an interview with News Corp’s Code Sports on Monday, Kyrgios confirmed he will be playing at the World Tennis League event in December ahead of his planned return to the Tour at the start of next year.
“I am coming back because something is keeping me around the game,” The AFP news agency quoted Kyrgios as saying.
“I have beaten pretty much every person that has been put in front of me, made a final of a Grand Slam, won a doubles title in a Grand Slam, won multiple titles and made money.
“But I think the one thing that is now on my target is a Grand Slam. I think that will be the only thing that will shut people up at the end of the day. That’ll be my deep motivation.”
The 29-year-old has won seven ATP titles so far in his career and was runner-up at another four events. He has beaten every member of the Big Four, including multiple wins over Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Overall, he has managed to achieve more than 200 Tour-level wins.
Besides his success, Kyrgios also earned a reputation for his fiery behavior on the court and numerous code violations. At one point he was issued with a 16-week suspended ban and a $25,000 (£20,300) fine for “aggravated behavior’ in 2019 following an investigation by the ATP.
“I guess I was branded that just because I was a bit outside the circle of what a normal tennis player is,” he said.
“I don’t think I carry that perception with the Aussie public anymore. But at the start of my career, people thought I was like a murderer.”
Since reaching the final of Wimbledon 2022, Kyrgios has only been able to play at one other Grand Slam event, which was the US Open that same year where he reached the quarter-finals.
