Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has said that he is only likely to play for a couple of more years, after he finally gets back on court, due to his well-documented mental health issues.
The 28-year-old has struggled with knee, foot and wrist injuries and he also withdrew from next month’s Australian Open at the 11th hour and has featured in only one tour match since the Japan Open in October last year.
The Australian confirmed at the weekend that he won’t be able to feature in his home Grand Slam for the second successive year.
"I only want to play for about another one to two years, and be at the top, and go down my own terms," he said in an interview on the 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty' podcast.
"I would hate to have another surgery or anything like that. I think I've still got the ability to have a good one to two years and then that's it.
"I think I'll be at peace with everything I've achieved and ... I'm going to have to just say: 'Look, to everyone out there who wants me to play more, you're just going to have to be OK with me not playing anymore'."
Kyrgios also shed light on his image in the game and his relationship with the media as well as talking about the mental health issues that had him thinking about suicide in 2019.
"If I had a bit of a normal career and I flew under the radar, I don't feel I'd feel this way, but those couple years really, I think, put a lot on my age," he added.
"It's just hard. I am tired. I'm tired of playing tennis ..."
The best moment of his career was his run to the Wimbledon final in 2022 and Kyrgios said he was reluctant to return to court until he was fit and healthy enough to repeat the form he showed at the All England Club.
"It's hard. It's hard," he said of his rehabilitation.
"I'm going to the gym, I'm doing my rehab, these surgeries aren't just like little surgeries, they're like you might have something seriously wrong with your body and it takes time.
"I'm only human ... it takes months and months of strength, consistency, diligence to get back to playing tennis at that high level again.
"I don't want to get back on tour and just play decent, I was competing for a Grand Slam, so I want to get back to that level. So it might take a bit more time."