Nick Kyrgios to miss French Open with injury sustained during robbery, agent says
Kyrgios has withdrawn from Roland Garros this year due to what his agent calls a "freak accident."
By George Ramsay and Zayn Nabbi, CNN
(CNN) — Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is set to miss the French Open after injuring his foot during an incident where his car was stolen, his agent confirmed to CNN Sport on Thursday.
According to Daniel Horsfall, Kyrgios – the runner-up at Wimbledon last year – hurt himself in the “high-adrenaline rush” of the robbery in Canberra earlier this month.
Police said that Kyrgios’ mother was held at gunpoint and that his Tesla was stolen during the incident near his house in the Australian capital, Reuters reported.
“During the incident on May 1, they had the armed robbery at the house. With all the stuff that was going on, Nick lacerated the side of his left foot. We don’t know how,” Horsfall said.
“Basically, it’s just set him back about two-and-a-half weeks in terms of his loading schedule to get back on court for what we thought was going to be the grand slam.”
When contacted by CNN, Canberra police referred to a statement from May 1 which said that a 32-year-old man had been arrested for allegedly stealing a car from a residence in the suburb of Watson.
The statement added that the man had threatened a woman at the residence with a firearm and demanded the keys to a Tesla parked at the residence.
The man was charged with aggravated robbery, driving a stolen motor vehicle, furious driving, and failure to stop for police, police said.
Kyrgios’ last tournament was in Tokyo in October. He underwent knee surgery at the start of the year and had hoped to make a return at the French Open.
However, Horsfall said that the 28-year-old had suffered a laceration to his foot during the robbery, rendering practice difficult.
“He couldn’t slide, couldn’t get on court because every time he put a shoe on it moved and it would re-open,” said Horsfall.
“His knee, as far as we’re concerned, is actually in fantastic shape, the surgery went well.
“His fitness is at a fantastic level. It was just when we got to the last point of that rehab, the on-court loading, this freak accident happened.”
According to Horsfall, Kyrgios is planning to return to the tour in Stuttgart, Germany, at the beginning of June.
“The family has had it rough during the last month,” he told CNN. “Not just Nick and his mother Nill, but also his sister Hali and partner Costeen who was there the morning of the robbery.”
The French Open begins on May 22 and runs until June 11. Tournament organizers confirmed that Kyrgios had withdrawn but declined to give any further information.
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