It happened! For the first time since April 2012, Nick Kyrgios no longer has a place in the ATP world rankings. The Australian earned his last world ranking points to date at the Japan Open 2022 in October last year. These have now expired, meaning the 28-year-old, who was ranked 470th at the beginning of October, no longer has a point in his account.
It’s the low point of a completely messed up season. Due to injuries, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist was only able to play one match this calendar year – at the Boss Open in June in Stuttgart. Kyrgios lost in two sets (5:7, 3:6) against the Chinese Wu Yibing.
Last year, the former number 13 in the world (October 2016) experienced a sporting high. At Wimbledon he reached his first Grand Slam final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic. Just a little later he triumphed in singles and doubles at the Citi Open in Washington DC. At the US Open he fought his way to the quarterfinals, his best career result to date at Flushing Meadows. The reward we deserved was to return to the top 20.
This year, however, Kyrgios is being slowed down by bad luck with injuries. In January he had to undergo surgery after sustaining a knee injury. Since the summer, wrist problems have forced him to take a break. A comeback to the ATP tour is planned at the Australian Open in January.
Until then, the man from Canberra will be listed in the ATP Protected Ranking, where he is currently ranked 21st. This allows players who have been injured for more than six months to take part in tournaments on the tour again, regardless of wildcards and qualifications.
It is doubtful whether Kyrgios is particularly impressed by his current departure from the world rankings. He made it clear what he thought of this ranking as early as December 2022. “I’ve said it before. The current ranking system is based on consistency and how much you play. Not on ability and form,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He was reacting to statistics from the Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR). This calculates the players’ current form based on the past 30 games over a twelve-month period. However, it’s not just about winning or losing, it also takes into account how many games are won in a match and the rating of the opponent.
According to these statistics, Kyrgios was in second place in December 2022, behind Djokovic, but ahead of Daniil Medvedev, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Rafael Nadal.
2023-10-19 18:18:22
#points #Nick #Kyrgios #removed #world #tennis #rankings
