Indian Wells: Nick Kyrgios retires injured from first-round match against Botic van de Zandschulp

A tearful Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from his first-round Indian Wells match with a wrist injury as his tennis return suffered another setback.

The Australian, playing his first match since January’s Australian Open, trailed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9-7) 3-0 before ending the match early.

Kyrgios became visibly upset when speaking to the trainer about his right wrist, which he had surgery on in September 2023.

The 29-year-old also struggled with knee and foot injuries over an 18-month period before making his return at the start of the year.

“No-one in the sport has had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that,” Kyrgios said.

“There’s been players that have had wrist surgeries and nowhere near as bad as what I had.

“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.”