On Wednesday, Nick Kyrgios’s late withdrawal from the first edition of the United Cup caught his own teammates off guard, as they were kept in the dark about the situation until a few minutes before their pre-tournament news conference.
Kyrgios, who is currently ranked number 22 in the world and made it all the way to the final of this year’s Wimbledon, was going to lead Australia in the joint ATP and WTA event that is being held in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. The event offers ranking points in addition to a total prize pool of $15 million.
The 27-year-old player, who was scheduled to face Cameron Norrie of Britain in his opening singles match on Thursday in Group D, has withdrawn from the competition owing to injury, according to the event’s organizers.
“We have only just learned about this a few minutes ago. Obviously, this comes as news to all of us, and at this point, we can only go on “Sam Stosur, who serves as co-captain, disclosed this information to reporters.
Later, Kyrgios released a video on Instagram in which he was seen basking in the sunlight at a port with the comment “Beautiful day.” This came after he decided not to compete for Australia in this year’s Davis Cup.
Alex de Minaur, who will now move into the number one men’s spot for Team Australia, wanted to avoid talking about Kyrgios and instead concentrate on the upcoming competition. Kyrgios is the current holder of that position.
“I think it would be great if we just talk about this great team,” he said. “Everyone is here, and everyone is thrilled to be here. We are going to be participating in an interesting new activity, which will be something new for all us it’s the United Cup.”
Australia would also play Rafael Nadal’s Spain in Group D.
During the course of the competition, which spans from the 29th of December to the 8th of January, teams from each of the 18 participating countries will compete in two men’s singles matches, two women’s singles matches, and one mixed doubles match.
