The World No.22's announcement surprised his teammates. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Nick Kyrgios is a last-second injury withdrawal at the United Cup.
The Aussie broke the news on Thursday, just ahead of Day 1 of the 18-team competition, which kicks off the 2022 tennis season across Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.
SYDNEY: Updated #UnitedCup schedule based on the Team Australia update. pic.twitter.com/xEn6OZHXHH
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 28, 2022
22nd-ranked Kyrgios, who was set to lead Australia as its top-ranked player, was scheduled to face off with Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie on Thursday evening in Sydney. He will be replaced by Alex de Minaur in Group D action, while World No.107 Jason Kubler slips into the No.2 spot.
The news came as a bit of a surprise to Kyrgios’ Aussie teammates.
“We literally just found out 10 minutes ago. Obviously it’s news to all of us and we just move forward now,” Australian co-captain Sam Stosur told reporters.
Kyrgios has reportedly been dealing with an ankle injury which was sustained during an exhibition in Dubai last week.
