Nick Kyrgios is making his return to tennis at the 2024 Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in New York.
He hasn’t played much since 2022 due to an injury-filled 2023, where he only managed one match and lost in the first round of the Stuttgart Open. After a long recovery period of 14 months, he’s finally ready to compete again.
During his time away from tennis, Kyrgios stayed busy by becoming a media personality . He appeared on various sports channels and even started his own podcast called ‘Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios’.
Ultimate Tennis Showdown: A Unique Event
Kyrgios’s comeback won’t be at an ATP or Grand Slam event but rather at this special exhibition organized by Patrick Mouratoglou. The UTS offers a different kind of competition compared to traditional tennis tournaments. Instead of sets and games, matches are divided into quarters lasting eight minutes each, with points scored differently.
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Earlier this year, another UTS event took place in Oslo where Andrey Rublev defeated Alex de Minaur in the final. Both players will also compete in New York.
Fans might find it exciting that this tournament uses a classic draw format starting from the quarter-finals, unlike previous round-robin formats. Eight players will participate, including Kyrgios who announced his participation on social media:
“I want to inform anyone that keeps up with UTS, or is a tennis fan out there, that I will be competing on the 22nd August at the Forest Hills Stadium in New York. I know it’s been a long time. But my body’s finally ready to get back out there and have some fun.”
The Australian player will face Casper Ruud right off the bat. Despite past disagreements between them, Kyrgios seems upbeat about their upcoming match:
“I’ll see if I am still able to go against some of the best players in the world starting off with my old rival, Casper Ruud. Casper, please take it easy on me…”
Players have fun nicknames like ‘The Ice Man’ for Ruud and ‘King Kyrgios’ for Nick himself. Other interesting matches include Alex de Minaur (‘The Demon’) vs Denis Shapovalov (‘Shapo’), Andrey Rublev (‘Rublo’) vs Gael Monfils (‘La Monf’), and Stefanos Tsitsipas (‘El Greco’) vs Alexander Bublik (‘The Bublik Enemy’).
Fans are probably thrilled about these unique matchups!
This tournament promises thrilling games and gives players a chance to prepare for the US Open next year.
What do you think about these exciting matchups?
