Nick Kyrgios Bows Out Of Wimbledon In 1st Round Due To Chronic Hip Injury

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July 3, 2017

Nick Kyrgios has bowed out of Wimbledon less than an hour into his first round match, succumbing to his chronic hip injury.

The world No. 20 called it quits just 58 minutes into his match against Frenchman and world No. 70 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 6-3 6-4.

Before the tournament, he conceded up was only “60, 65 percent” fit after aggravating the injury in a fall during the Queen’s Cup last month.

A dejected Kyrgios said he knew he was in trouble before the match even started.

“I kind of knew I was in trouble, I’ve been feeling my hip ever since I fell over at Queen’s and I never really got it right,” he said after the match. “I was doing everything I could to help it, but obviously just not enough time – I just wasn’t 100%. Nothing to take away from him [Herbert], he plays great grass court tennis, he serves well, he’s going to do well.”

He might be known for on-court antics and bad behaviour, but there was none of that this round.

Instead, there’s been a heartbreaking quality to it, with The Guardian describing his demeanour as having “an unmistakable sadness” to it, and the AAP reporting that he “hung his head in his towel at the changeover, then wiped away tears as he returned to the court.”

Everyone who says Nick Kyrgios doesn’t care about tennis should watch the footage of him trying to get through that match.

— Imogen Dunlevie (@ImogenDunlevie) July 3, 2017