Two of the world-renowned tennis players; Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray have announced the news of not playing in the upcoming Australian Open. The news of Kei Nishikori’s absence from the Australian Open arrives only one day after Andy Murray announced that he is putting his Grand Slam comeback on hold due to his career-threatening surgery problems. As for Nishikori, he will not be taking part in the tournament due to his right elbow injury.
The news of Nishikori’s absence from the Australian Open was announced by Tennis Australia. The released a statement saying that Nishikori is not going to join the season-opening tournament held in Melbourne as well as not appearing in ATP Cup; a new team event for men which will start next week. This tournament will be played in Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane.
During the offseason, the world rank no., 13 Nishikori underwent minor elbow surgery and has not played any game in the last season following his loss to Alex de Minaur at US Open.
Nishikori said, “Today, together with my team, we have made this decision as I am still not 100 percent ready (or) healthy to compete at the highest level. This decision was not taken lightly as Australia is one of my favorite places to compete. Together with my team, I will keep working hard to be back on the court as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support.”
Nishikori has made it to his career-high rank of world no. 4 back in 2015 and happens to be the quarterfinalist for Australian Open 4 times; 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019. He has a record of 29-7 at Melbourne Park.
As for Andy Murray, the 3-time winner of the Grand Slam announced his news that he is experiencing a certain setback in the recovery of his injury. He is taking a precaution by not coming to play in Australia for the tournament.
Related Content
