Nick Kyrgios admits heās OK about the prospect of never playing professional tennis again.
Unranked after slipping out of the worldās top 1000 following just one on tour match in 16 months, Kyrgios says heās enjoying life as a commentator and talk show host and can see that as his fulltime future going forward.
āI sat down with my agent, Stuart Duguid, a couple of days ago to talk about my future.
āThe reality is, there is a part of me that knows my time in the sport may be over. And Iām OK with that,ā the 2022 Wimbledon finalist wrote in a Nine newspaper column.
āItās a conversation that needed to be had. Iām at a crossroads in my career and have reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me.
āItās why my manager brought it up. He said, āThis could be you from now on if you want it to beā.
āI could travel the world making really good money commentating on the sport, doing things like I am now with my talk show interviewing guys like Gordon Ramsay and Mike Tyson.ā
The 28-year-old believes heās already doing what many players would love to be doing.
āThey donāt have the global reach that I do,ā he said.
āOtherwise, they would be doing it too.
āTheir entire world revolves around playing tennis, and thatās never been me.ā
Kyrgios contemplating retirement is no great revelation.
The one-time world No.13 conceded the āstars would have to alignā for him to make a successful comeback after knee and wrist surgeries.
āI sit there and watch some of the players on tour and know within myself that this generation is not as strong as some of the players I have gone up against,ā he said in the newspaper column.
āI know I can be one of the best in the world and win major tournaments ā if my body lets me. The fire still burns, but itās not my everything.ā
Kyrgios also declared himself out of the running for the Paris Olympics, even though it would take something of a miracle to qualify anyway.
Ā
(Australian Associated Press)