Canberran tennis star Nick Kyrgios is firmly on the comeback trail after revealing he's finally returned to the court after completing lengthy rehab on his injured wrist.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kyrgios shared an update to his social media accounts, proclaiming: "First hit in eight months after wrist surgery. Slowly I'm coming baby."
On Tuesday, Kyrgios was shown in a video having a light practice session at the Canberra Tennis Centre in Lyneham.
"It was my first hit today," he said in another video.
"Super excited, wrist feels good, just icing it right now, doing all the right things."
The update comes as Kyrgios confirmed he was aiming to appear in a UTS Tour event in New York in August, but he is yet to be locked in for any other tournaments between now and then.
Kyrgios' countryman Alex de Minaur is also scheduled to play in the Big Apple.
The 'Ultimate Tennis Showdown' is a rival competition separate to the ATP Tour on which Kyrgios played his last competitive match in June 2023 in Stuttgart.
"I'm box office," Kyrgios told UTS organisers when asked why fans should see him in New York. "Simple as that."
The UTS event is not a traditional tennis tournament format, with loud music, four quarters instead of sets, on-court interviews during matches, and players encouraged to more freely express themselves - whether that's anger, humour or joy.
Kyrgios has frequently been a critic of his sport's traditional approach but said the UTS promotes something new for fans.
"For me it's the energy, the music and the culture," he said. "That brings out the best in me. It's much more like basketball than tennis. UTS is the future for sure."
The former world No.13 has battled knee setbacks and most recently a wrist injury that required surgery seven months ago.
Earlier this month Kyrgios told The Canberra Times he has been slowly regaining strength and mobility in his wrist, and was confident of getting "back into playing shape."
"The wrist is all good. It was pretty serious surgery I had, and something I definitely needed. I wasn't able to play at all beforehand. So, it's been really promising," he said.
During his rehab Kyrgios began establishing a potential post-tennis career in media, making appearances on TV shows and podcasts in the US and in Australia.
In sharing details about Kyrgios' "outrageous" dedication to his gym and treatment sessions in recent months, the tennis star's physiotherapist Will Maher said the 28-year-old still had goals to play tennis a little while longer.
"He's definitely closer to the end than the start of his career and you appreciate things more when you realise you've got precious time left," Maher said.
"He's not ready to fully commit to all the media stuff just yet; he still enjoys the thrill of winning."