Nick Kyrgios returns to tennis action after year-long injury break at New York exhibition event
The Australian tennis player made his competitive return from injury at the Mixed Madness charity event ahead of the US Open 2024.
Tennis
Australian ace Nick Kyrgios made his long-awaited return to tennis at the US Open Mixed Madness 2024 charity event on Tuesday.
Playing at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Australian tennis player teamed up with Naomi Osaka of Japan in mixed doubles matches. They were beaten by Amanda Anisimova and Taylor Fritz while the pair of Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tstisipas won the event
This marks the first competitive tennis match for 29-year-old Nick Kyrgios since his injury in Stuttgart last June, where he made a return to the court after a seven-month hiatus. Kyrgios has been grappling with a series of injuries over the past few years.
He will also make his singles return and will compete in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) event set to take place at the Forest Hills Stadium in New York. Nick Kyrgios confirmed his participation on social media on Wednesday.
"I just want to inform everyone that I will be competing on the 22nd of August at the Forest Hill Stadium in New York,” Kyrgios said on his social media page. “I know it's been a long time but my body is finally ready to get back out there and have some fun.”
Battling with knee and wrist injuries, Kyrgios had been actively performing media duties over the last few months leading to speculation on whether he would even return to the tennis court.
However, not only did he compete at the US Open Mixed Madness event, Kyrgios will now turn his focus towards the UTS in New York, another exhibition event, where he is set to face world No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway.
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown will also feature Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and fellow Australian Alex de Minaur. Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils will face each other in the first round.
The event in New York will be the second leg of the UTS Tour. The first leg, held in Oslo in February, was won by Andrey Rublev.
Although the final entries for the US Open 2024 tennis tournament are yet to be announced, Nick Kyrgios is not expected to take part in the final Grand Slam event of the year.