Nick Kyrgios’s late withdrawal from the inaugural edition of the United Cup took his own teammates by surprise yesterday as they were left in the dark until minutes before their pre-tournament news conference.
Kyrgios, who is ranked 22nd in the world and reached this year’s Wimbledon final, was set to lead Australia in the joint ATP and WTA event, which is being held in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth and offers ranking points and $15mn in prize-money.
Organisers said the 27-year-old, who was due to face Britain’s Cameron Norrie in his first singles match today in Group D, withdrew due to injury.
“We literally just found out 10 minutes ago. Obviously it’s news to all of us. It’s obvious we just move forward now,” co-captain Sam Stosur told reporters.
Kyrgios, who opted out of Australia’s Davis Cup team this year, later posted a video on Instagram where he was seen out in the sunshine at a harbour with the caption ‘Beautiful day’.
Alex de Minaur, who will now move into the number one men’s position for Team Australia, wanted to avoid discussing Kyrgios and focus on the upcoming event.
“I think it would be great if we just talk about this great team,” he said. “We are all here, we are all happy to be here, we are about to play an exciting new event, something new for all of us - the United Cup.”
Australia will also play Rafa Nadal’s Spain in Group D.
The tournament, which runs from Dec 29-Jan 8, features 18 countries split into six groups of three, with teams playing two men’s and two women’s singles matches and a mixed doubles match.
Meanwhile Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday told rival Kyrgios to “enjoy his holidays”, after the Australian stunned his team by withdrawing from the United Cup at the last minute.
“It is not a surprise, I hope he enjoys his holidays,” Tsitsipas, the main talent on the eight-player Greek side in Perth, said.
The pair have had a fractious relationship which came to a head at Wimbledon this year when Tsitsipas said his Australian opponent had an “evil side”, after a bad-tempered third-round match.
That contest descended into mayhem when a frustrated Tsitsipas hit the ball into the crowd after losing the second set and Kyrgios told the umpire his opponent should be kicked out of the tournament.
The bad feeling bubbled up again in post-match press conferences, with Tsitsipas calling him “a bully”.
“I don’t know where all of his energy comes from,” Tsitsipas said yesterday of Kyrgios.
“There is so much of it, I don’t know how he does it.
“You cannot concentrate on your own game, there is so much noise coming from the other side of the net. It’s distracting, you have to be at your best to overcome it all.”
Tsitsipas said the Greek team was psyched up about trying to lead a minor tennis nation to big achievements in the new tournament.
“We are all doing this together,” he said of the squad’s spirit.
“Our team all have their eyes on the prize, but this (winning) can only be achieved by combining forces and committing every day.
“When it comes to tennis, team events are my favourite.
“I have a lot of faith in the players on our squad, we are all striving for excellence together.