Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios withdraws; knee surgery planned to fix issue

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open with a knee injury in what is a devastating blow not only to the player, but also to the tournament. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist is expected to undergo an arthroscopic surgery to rectify the issue.

Despite his bad boy status, Kyrgios remains a firm favourite of the Aussie crowd. He was hoping to carry his impressive form from last season into the first Grand Slam of 2023, but will now be sidelined for an indefinite period after reportedly tearing his meniscus.

Kyrgios was slated to play his singles first round match against Russian Roman Safiullin on Tuesday. However, his withdrawal has provided an opportunity to lucky loser Denis Kudla.

The 27-year-old will also be unable to defend the doubles title he won in 2022 alongside close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. He carried on his early season form which saw him make the final at Wimbledon and win the Citi Open later in the year.

Kyrgios admitted that he was devastated with his latest injury setback, especially since he was considered one of the favourites going into his home tournament. The Australian, however, has no doubt that he will be back to his best with the injury not expected to hamper his longevity in the game.

"I'm devastated. It's like my home tournament. I've had some great memories here. Playing the best tennis of my life probably. Then going into this event as one of the favourites, it's brutal. All I can do now is just look forward," Kyrgios said.

"Look, I'm not doubting I will be back to my full strength and playing the tennis I was playing prior to this event," the Aussie added.

Kyrgios has been dealing with the injury for over a week, and was undergoing a treatment to remove the cyst that was caused by the meniscus tear. He even took the court for a practice match against Novak Djokovic over the weekend, but decided to withdraw from the tournament to focus on the long term.

The Australian's Will Maher revealed that he will now head back to Canberra where he will undergo an "arthroscopic procedure to clean up his lateral meniscus and remove the paralabral cyst." It is unclear when Kyrgios expects to return to the ATP Tour.