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.
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.
On Thursday night in Sydney, Aussie Captain Lleyton Hewitt echoed those sentiments.
"It was pretty tough for everyone," he said. "It was more probably the lack of communication, I think, and for these guys not knowing."
Kyrgios has reportedly been dealing with an ankle injury which was sustained during an exhibition in Dubai last week.