By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Monday, June 19, 2023
Nick Kyrgios withdrew from Halle today citing issues with his surgically-repaired knee.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, who lost his Stuttgart comeback match to Wu Yibing 7-5, 6-3, stepped out of Halle in an effort to ensure his health for Wimbledon.
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"Very unfortunate news: I won't be able to compete at Halle this year," Kyrgios said in a video posted on the tournament's social media channels. "I'm still dealing with a couple of things with my knee.
"I'm just trying to give myself the best opportunity to compete at Wimbledon. As you all know, that tournament means a lot to me, and I just want to do everything right by my body. I didn't want to go out there and not give you the same performance I gave last year.
"So hopefully next year, I'll be healthy enough to play. See you soon."
Kyrgios is currently ranked No. 31 and would be seeded at Wimbledon, however he will not be defending the 180 ranking points he earned in his 2022 Halle semifinal run. That could jeopardize his Wimbledon seeding, though clearly Kyrgios' main priority is regaining his health and fitness to play The Championships.
The explosive Kyrgios underwent an arthroscopic surgery to clean up his lateral meniscus and remove a paralabral cyst in the final week of January. Recovery from that surgery sidelined him until Stuttgart last week.
The 28-year-old Aussie scored a combined 61 victories in 2022 (37 singles and 24 doubles wins) and has been limited to just one match post-surgery.
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport