Kyrgios pulls out of Halle due to knee injury

The 28-year-old underwent surgery on a left knee injury earlier in the year and was beaten in his comeback match after a five-month layoff in the Stuttgart Open first round last week.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios during the Stuttgart open. | Photo Credit: AP

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the Halle tournament due to an ongoing problem with his knee, the ATP Tour said on Monday, as the Australian’s hopes of participating in the Grass court Grand Slam took a blow.

The 28-year-old underwent surgery on a left knee injury earlier in the year and was beaten in his comeback match after a five-month layoff when he fell against China’s Wu Yibing in the Stuttgart Open first round last week.

He had trouble with his movement during that match and the problem has now forced Kyrgios to pull out of the ATP 500 event in Halle, where he reached the semi-finals in 2022.

“Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from @ATPHalle due to a knee injury and is replaced by Aslan Karatsev,” the ATP Tour said in a tweet.

Kyrgios, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last year, had previously played a singles match in October in Tokyo and pulled out of the Australian Open in January in the leadup to the tournament.

He missed the French Open due to a foot injury he sustained during the theft of his car last month.

Wimbledon will begin on July 3.