Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios hints his retirement will be sooner rather than later as he quits every tournament for the rest of the year and flies back to Australia to see his sick mum
- Kyrgios, 26, made the shock announcement after straight set defeats in Boston
- Taking time off to see his mum and spend the rest of the year with his family
- Tennis star said he has nothing left to prove and is proud of his achievements
- Straight set defeat against Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios says he may retire within five years as he feels he will have ‘nothing left to prove’ to himself.
The 26-year-old on Sunday quit every tournament for the rest of the year, claiming he was sick of being on the road and wanted to spend time with his sick mum.
Kyrgios made the shock announcement after straight set defeats against Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Laver Cup championship in Boston.
‘As long as I’m on the court I’ll try and give my best but I’m not going to lie and say I plan to play for four or five more years on tour, that’s just not me,’ he said.
Nick Kyrgios is taking the rest of the year off to spend time with his mum, Norlaila (pictured together)
Pictured: Nick Kyrgios plays against Stefanos Tsitsipas during the fifth match in the 2021 Laver Cup
‘I need to go back home, I’ve been travelling for four and half months now, my Mum’s not doing too well with her health, I’d like to go back and see her.’
‘I want to spend time with my family.’
He said this year would likely be his last Laver Cup and that he doesn’t ‘know how much longer I will be in tennis’.
‘This is my last event of the year,’ he said. ‘I will get my body right ahead of the Australian Open.’
He claimed he didn’t feel the need to prove himself by collecting ‘points or hunting for accolades’ and was incredibly proud of his achievements.
Pictured: Nick Kyrgios with his family. He plans on taking the rest of 2021 off to be with them in Canberra
Kyrgios gained a poor reputation over his eight-year career after a series of on-court spats where he would do anything from abusing umpires to erupting at his own support team.
He his a career-high ranking of 13 in 2016, but has since dropped back to 95 after playing fewer competitions and failing to last beyond the third round in each grand slam tournament this year.
‘I’ll get my body right and I’ll start my pre-season for the Australian Open and then go from there,’ he said.
‘I’m not a player that’s going to play every week. I’ve got a lot of off-court duties and all that type of stuff, so we’ll re-assess.’
Stefanos Tsitsipas (pictured) beat Kyrgios in straight sets in the game on Sunday
The tennis bad boy said he felt like an ‘old soul’ who has been playing for ‘a long, long time’, despite being just 26.
‘I always wanted to come on tour to beat the best players, show my personality and create a platform where I was able to help others and I feel like that’s what I’ve done,’ he said.
At the Laver Cup, Kyrgios’ lost 6-3 6-4 to Tsitsipas, but the Greek player insisted Kyrgios was a ‘dangerous opponent’.
‘He’s someone who with not much practice or preparation he can come out and play his best tennis due to the enormous talent that he has as an athlete,’ he said.
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