Nick Kyrgios thrilled to return after 15-month singles drought

Nick Kyrgios ended a 15-month singles wait with a straight-sets first-round win over Corentin Moutet at Stuttgart. The Australian, once ranked No 13, has been rebuilding after injuries and a missed 2024 season, and now has a chance to keep his grass-court come

Nick Kyrgios hasn’t played a singles match in long enough that the calendar has started to feel like an opponent of its own.

So when he stepped on court in Stuttgart and sent the ball skidding back with big serves and a layer of showmanship—drop shots. tweeners. the kind of flair that still turns a warm-up event into a statement—his first singles win in 15 months landed with extra weight. The Australian. once ranked No 13 in the world. defeated world No 36 Corentin Moutet in straight sets. 6-3. 6-4. in a first-round match that lasted less than an hour.

The result mattered because the gap was not small. Kyrgios had not played singles since the Brisbane International in January, where he lost in 66 minutes to world No 58 Aleksandar Kovacevic. He also missed the entire 2024 season. Since October 2022, he had won just one singles match—until now.

At this Wimbledon warm-up event in Germany on Tuesday. the 31-year-old looked like someone testing whether his body could keep up with his ambition. After the match. he said he was delighted to be back on court. even as he admitted doubt had crept into his thinking about whether he could stay at top-level tennis.

“I had a wrist reconstruction, I’ve had four knee surgeries, so I’m really battling, but at the same time I’ve put in a lot of work, I’m really feeling good about myself,” Kyrgios said.

He described the uncertainty in blunt terms—moments when training had still not erased the question of why it all mattered.

“Honestly, there were so many times I was thinking: ‘Why am I playing? What more do I need to do?’ And I look at you guys and this is why I’m playing, so I’ll hang around a little longer,” he said.

Kyrgios also pointed to what the day gave him beyond the scoreboard.

“I’m pleased with the way I played today, I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling in my body, I’ve been putting in a lot of work so I’m just really happy to be back.”

It is not the first time Kyrgios has tried to climb back into the sport’s spotlight. and it has not always gone smoothly. A previous attempted comeback ended with a mixed doubles defeat and the quick exit of the “Special Ks” from the Australian Open. There, Kyrgios and partner Thanasi Kokkinakis went out in the first round to fellow Australians Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans.

After that loss, Kyrgios said he would re-evaluate what his schedule looks like: “I’ve done everything I thought I could do. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do [going forward].”

His remarks were followed by questions about whether his time in the sport had come to an end. Those doubts haven’t been fully erased—he still sounded cautious when asked about momentum—but Stuttgart offered an immediate answer.

This week, Kyrgios is building toward Wimbledon, where he reached the final in 2022. In the build-up in Germany, a strong showing could also earn him a wildcard in London.

“I’m so thrilled to be back, and playing some high-level tennis as well,” he said. “Confident? I don’t know if that is a word I’m feeling quite yet. Obviously, I will see how I feel tomorrow.”

The next chapter starts quickly. Kyrgios will play Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro—ranked 101—on Thursday. Before that, he is set to play doubles on Wednesday with partner Alexander Bublik.

Nick Kyrgios Corentin Moutet Stuttgart ATP event singles win comeback Wimbledon wildcard Sho Shimabukuro Alexander Bublik Thanasi Kokkinakis Special Ks