Nick Kyrgios reveals motivation behind tennis comeback as Lleyton Hewitt issues stern warning

Nick Kyrgios has lifted the lid on the motivations behind his return to the tennis court as the Aussie hopes to line up in his home grand slam in January. Kyrgios, who has had to navigate wrist and knee injuries over the past two years, hasn't played at Melbourne Park since 2022 but tournament organisers expect him to take part in 2025 as Kyrgios opened up on his burning desire to win a grand flam.

The 29-year-old has long spoken about his love-hate relationship with the sport and has hinted at retirement several times in recent years. Kyrgios last played back in June 2023 at the Stuttgart Open - his only competitive match in nearly two years - and many believed he likely would never return. However, Kyrgios revealed the fire in his belly is back and he has one thing left to achieve in the sport, an elusive grand slam singles title.

The Australian has endured a torrid 2023 battling several injuries that saw him first withdraw from the United Cup in January to rest an ankle injury ahead of the Australian Open. He then subsequently withdrew from the grand slam in Melbourne due to a knee injury, before he had yet another stint on the sidelines with a wrist injury.

But with the Aussie expected to line up at Melbourne Park in 2025, Kyrgios revealed the hunger for a grand slam is what is driving him to come back better than ever. "I am coming back because something is keeping me around the game," Kyrgios said in an interview with Code Sports. "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."

Kyrgios has previously tasted grand slam glory, winning the Australian Open men's doubles event back in 2022 alongside fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kyrgios then went on to reach the Wimbledon final the same year but ultimately lost to Novak Djokovic.

And some two years on from that final defeat, Kyrgios says he is back in full training, his wrist is completely healed and his motivation is at an all-time high. "I'm far from done, to be honest. I'm in the later stages of my career but I still have one or two years left… I'm feeling extremely well," he continued. "I'm hitting for around three hours every day now. My wrist from surgery has completely healed and I'm feeling motivated. I don't want to think about retirement but at the same time, I understand that it is coming to an end. I don't think it's ever going to be easy."

Lleyton Hewitt believes Nick Kyrgios' comeback won't be easy

But Aussie tennis great Lleyton Hewitt has issued a warning to Kyrgios ahead of his slated comeback, stating that he shouldn't expect to hit the ground running on his return. "He's certainly been on the practice court playing more than I've seen in the last year and a half," Hewitt said at the Australian Open launch in Melbourne.

"He's still got to get over the niggles obviously, and even when you start to up your practice and being able to push through those setbacks as well. He's certainly doing a lot more stuff, it's just whether the body can hold up."

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"It's tough (to come back) and probably the biggest challenge he's ever faced. To have a setback, especially of that amount of time now as well, and the game keeps improving, the guys keep taking it to new levels as well.

"For him to come in and obviously try and play (at the Australian Open), there's a number of players in the draw which, if he goes out there and plays his best tennis, he'll be able to take care of in straight sets, but there's going to be a lot of guys that are going to be able to push him. And how he responds to that, obviously, by not doing it for the last couple of years - that's not only (tough) physically, it's a mental challenge as well."

with AAP