“I can’t do another surgery”: Nick Kyrgios opens up on retirement plans

Nick Kyrgios has confirmed he’ll play the 2026 Australian Open “in some way,” even as he hinted that his career may be nearing its end.

The 30-year-old Australian has spent most of the 2025 season sidelined with injuries, limiting him to just four tournaments this year—Brisbane, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami—where he posted a 1–4 record.

Kyrgios made a return to the tennis courts this week at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Hong Kong, though not as a player. After withdrawing due to injury, Kyrgios took on dual roles at the Kai Tak Arena—joining the commentary booth and making his debut as a coach for French veteran Richard Gasquet.

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“I really like it,” Kyrgios said of coaching Gasquet, who fell to China’s Jerry Shang in the quarterfinals. “He’s an absolute legend of the game… all the players here respect him. It’s an absolute honor to be next to him at the moment.”

While Kyrgios enjoyed his new role off the court, his own playing future remains uncertain. Speaking in a recent interview with Unscriptd, the former world No. 13 said he still hopes to return to competition before the end of the year.

“I’m training pretty much every day and playing. I’m just not competing,” Kyrgios told host Josh Mansour. “The (ATP) Tour schedule’s nearly done, but there are a couple of events that I’m preparing for.”

Among those are high-profile exhibition matches, including The Garden Cup at Madison Square Garden on December 8—featuring Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, and Tommy Paul—and a “Battle of the Sexes”-style event against world No. 1 Sabalenka in Dubai on December 28.

Read More: Nick Kyrgios dismissive of Aryna Sabalenka in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ redux: “Do you think I have to try?”

Even so, Kyrgios admitted that retirement is looming.

“I do know that I’m getting to the end of my tennis career now, especially with all these injuries,” he said. “I can’t do another surgery where you’re out for another six to nine months.”

The Australian, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022 and won the Australian Open doubles title the same year alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, underwent both knee and wrist surgeries and missed nearly two full seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Read More: Nick Kyrgios: Wrist injury has been "one of the biggest challenges" of my career

After a rocky return in 2025, his focus is now on closing out his career on his own terms—and ideally in front of a home crowd in Melbourne.

“I don’t know yet,” Kyrgios said when asked if 2026 would be his last season. “It’s just hard because I know what it takes to be at that level, and whether or not you can string those days together. That’s what’s tough…

“I’ll probably play the Aussie Open in some way. I’m not too sure what events I’ll play, but I definitely will say goodbye at the Aussie Open at least one more time.”