Nick Kyrgios plans ATP Tour return from injury and still has 'fire in the belly'
Nick Kyrgios says he still has "fire in the belly" as he prepares to return to training.
Australian Kyrgios missed all four majors in 2023 because of wrist, knee and foot injuries and has played just one ATP Tour match since October 2022.
As a result, in January the former Wimbledon finalist said he did not want to play tennis any more.
But speaking to the Australian Open Show podcast, Kyrgios, 28, said he is ready to reignite his career.
"It's arguably been one of the hardest years of my life tennis-wise," Kyrgios said.
"I've had some really hard conversations with myself, if I want to keep doing this. So I know there's still fire in the belly, which is good, it's healthy."
After so many injury troubles, which required knee and wrist surgery, Kyrgios is cautious about setting a timeframe for his return to playing.
His last competitive match was in June 2023, when he lost to China's world number 64 Wu Yibing in Stuttgart.
"I'm hitting for the first time next week, so as soon as I get back out on court I guess it's just going to be starting up, getting that load back through my wrist and my body," Kyrgios said.
"But I definitely will be coming back. It's just hard to put an exact date on it because the injury was quite severe."
An exceptionally talented player, Kyrgios added that he wants to find his enjoyment of tennis again after such a challenging recovery process.
In 2022, he reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, losing out to Novak Djokovic.
He also won a doubles major in the same year as he and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis took the men's doubles title at the Australian Open.
