"Nick Kyrgios's career is over"; "Tough to watch" – Fans speculate retirement for injury-plagued Aussie after mid-match withdrawal at Indian Wells

Fans believe Nick Kyrgios might hang up his racket after his mid-match retirement in the first round of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The Aussie suffered from wrist issues during training but still took to the courts only to pull out mid-second set.

Kyrgios severely injured his wrist in 2022, following which, he played only one match over the next two years. The 29-year-old returned to competition this season but could not win a singles match so far.

In Indian Wells, he faced wrist issues again during training but powered through the pain to take to the court on Friday, March 6, against Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round. The Dutchman won the first set barely via a tiebreaker but after he went up 3-0 in the second, Kyrgios decided it was too much for his wrist to bear and retired. He was visibly emotional on his bench but there was not much he could do.

Several fans reacted to the result and speculated if the Aussie was close to retiring from professional tennis.

"Yeah Kyrgios's career is done," one fan wrote.

Comment byu/musicproducer07 from discussion intennis

"Tough to watch at the end honestly, Kyrgios is a bit of a shoddy person but must be the worst feeling after trying to come back, he clearly cares," another fan wrote.

Comment byu/musicproducer07 from discussion intennis

"Well we could all see this coming," a third fan added.

Here are some more fan reactions to Nick Kyrgios' mid-match retirement at the Indian Wells.

"Nick is absolutely out of shape. You can tell just by the way he moves (or doesn’t) on court... However his game never depended on great movement... His wrist injury is the career ender. When you don’t have your biggest weapon that wins you free points and your second strongest weapon (forehand), there’s absolutely nothing you can do to win," one fan explained.

"Being out of shape with a chronic wrist injury.....Its over for Kyrgios... He'll play a couple grass events then probably retire next year at the AO," another fan wrote.

"Bummer. Had no bite on the forehand and was in pain all match. Not sure how much pro tennis he has left," yet another fan added.

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"It's all an experiment at this point" - Nick Kyrgios uncertain about his future after Indian Wells retirement

Nick Kyrgios at the BNP Paribas Open - Source: Getty

After withdrawing from his Indian Wells first-round match due to wrist pain, Nick Kyrgios addressed concerns about his injury. He revealed that no player has attempted a comeback after undergoing a wrist reconstruction like his, making his recovery an unpredictable process.

Kyrgios explained that he immediately iced his wrist and planned to follow the necessary steps to manage the pain, but admitted there was no clear roadmap for his return.

"You know, right now, I just went straight to the locker room and iced it. I'll try and do all the right things to settle it down... It's all an experiment at this point. I was told I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again. I feel I'm like right there, I feel like I can compete." Nick Kyrgios said during the post-match press conference.

The Aussie is next scheduled to participate in the Miami Open in the coming weeks.