Nick Kyrgios' sad admission about family after retirement bombshell

Nick Kyrgios has elaborated on a recent bombshell that he will retire from tennis if he wins a grand slam in 2023, revealing the toll his career has taken on his family life. Speaking at the World Tennis Challenge in Dubai this week, Kyrgios was asked about his hopes for 2023 and said: “Hopefully I can win a slam and just retire."

The Aussie star expressed similar sentiments after losing in the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, admitting he might not have had the motivation to keep playing if he had won the title. Speaking to Eurosport on Thursday, Kyrgios said he was very serious about the potential of retiring at age 27.

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“Honestly, I probably would (retire if I won a grand slam),” Kyrgios said before opening up about his heartache at being away from his family for long periods throughout the year. “Especially being from Australia as well, there’s just so much travel, so much time away from family, so much time away from friends. You’re just missing milestones in the family, you’re just not having a normal life really.

“No other tennis player that’s not from Australia gets that. It’s easy for a European or an American player to lose or win a tournament, then you take a five-hour flight back home and you spend a week there before the next event. Whereas as an Australian, you’re doing like four to seven months travel blocks. Honestly, I don’t think it’s healthy. No other real athlete does that in the world, in any sport. Doing seven months on your own."

Kyrgios' brother Christos recently welcomed his first child, making the World No.22 an uncle for the first time. His mother Nill has also been struggling with her health in recent years and doesn't travel with him to matches anymore.

Kyrgios will play the inaugural United Cup - starting on December 29 - before ramping up his preparations for the Australian Open at the Adelaide International. He revealed on Thursday that he will take a long break after the year's first grand slam.

“I know I’ve got about a month and a half after that where I’m going to be at home before Indian Wells. I’m not going to play anything after that. That’s really what I’m looking forward to," he told Eurosport. “I’m not even looking forward to before AO, I’m just looking to after it, I kind of want it to be over. Because I know how stressful it is for me personally to be in the spotlight. Just everything, even my days off are stressful. I’ll probably play doubles. I’m really waiting for it all to be over."

Kyrgios enjoyed a breakout year in 2022, winning the Australian Open doubles title and finishing with a 37-10 win-loss record in singles - the fourth-best strike rate on the ATP tour behind Carlos Alcaraz, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He said earlier this week: "It took a lot of hard work this season, a lot of discipline and it seems the better you do, everyone wants a bit more of you and it becomes more stressful.

"But I had a lot of fun this season. And I’m finally just proud to say I made a slam final and started to meet some expectations. I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed it, definitely felt better off and on the court."

Nick Kyrgios wants to see Novak Djokovic playing

Meanwhile, Kyrgios has expressed his delight that Djokovic will be back playing at the Australian Open after he was deported and missed the grand slam in January. Djokovic had his visa cancelled and was sent home due to his vaccination status.

"I think Novak needs to be playing at all costs," Kyrgios told AFP on Wednesday. "He's one of the greatest of all time and as long as he's going to be playing and hanging around, we need him at these tournaments."

"I think, as a competitor, I want to see him there. And if I win a tournament, if you don't go through Novak, then you kind of know the tournament isn't really a tournament."

Kyrgios and Djokovic were scheduled to go head-to-head in a rematch of the Wimbledon final in Dubai on Wednesday. However the 21-time grand slam champion was a late withdrawal after not feeling well.

"I was pretty excited to play Novak obviously, since the Wimbledon final and all that, wanted to go out there and have some fun with him," said Kyrgios. "But he's got to look after his body and obviously he's a got a big couple of months coming up with a lot of expectations, so I wasn't surprised if he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent to get out there."

with agencies

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