Nick Kyrgios reveals why being an Aussie makes him want to RETIRE from tennis aged just 27 – as he opens up about missing huge moments in his family life: ‘I’m waiting for it to be over’
- Aussie superstar has opened up on missing family milestones due to travel
- Kyrgios says every day is stressful on tour due to isolation and heavy scrutiny
- Has stated he will retire from the game when he wins a grand slam title
Tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios has revealed the stress of missing family milestones because Australia is so far away from the sport’s biggest tournaments has left him wishing he could retire from the sport at the peak of his powers.
The 27-year-old shocked the sport this week by announcing his desire to quit once he’d won a grand slam title and elaborated on his plans in an interview on Thursday.
He has previously discussed how being away from his gravely ill mother has played on his mind while he was playing far from his family home in Canberra.
‘Being from Australia as well, there’s just so much travel, so much time away from family, so much time away from friends.
Kyrgios – pictured with his ill mother Nill (right) and sister Halimah – says the huge distance between his home in Australia and the tournaments he plays in America and Europe makes his life so stressful he’d love to retire
The 27-year-old (pictured with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi) has opened up about missing family milestones as he travels the world
‘You’re just missing milestones in the family, you’re just not having a normal life, really,’ he told Eurosport.
‘No other tennis player that’s not from Australia gets that.
‘It’s easy for a European or an American player to lose or win a tournament, then you take a five-hour flight back home and you spend a week there before the next event.’
Kyrgios explained he’s looking forward to having six weeks with his loved ones after the Australian Open finishes next month before outlining the toll the isolation and scrutiny that comes with being a tennis star is taking on him.
‘I know how stressful it is for me personally to be in the spotlight. Just everything, even my days off are stressful … I’m really waiting for it all to be over.’
His mother Nill has said her kidneys are failing to the point where they are ‘very close to the end of their life’ – and Nick has pulled out of tournaments to be with her in the past
One of the milestones he missed out on is the birth of his nephew George six months ago, but the youngest Kyrgios was able to be there as he played in Dubai recently.
His mother Nill’s kidneys are failing to the point where she has said the organs are ‘very close to the end of their life’.
She has revealed she’s hoping to receive a kidney from Nick’s father George if the two are compatible.
When Nick was closing in on the men’s doubles title at this year’s Australian Open, his older brother Christos said their mum had suffered from heart problems in recent years and had been unable to watch him as a result.
‘She’s a fighter. She has some heart issues and combining that with the heightened tension around watching Nick’s matches, she hasn’t been able to watch them at all, even on TV, over the last few years,’ Christos said.
In September 2021 Nick quit every tournament he was scheduled to play in for the rest of the year because he wanted to spend time with Nill, also known as Norlaila, as she battled ill health.
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