Nick Kyrgios is at a 'crossroads' in his career, but that doesn’t mean retirement is ahead

Nick Kyrgios is contemplating a life after a tennis-playing career, but that doesn't mean retirement is in his imminent future.

Sidelined for more than a year due to a combination of knee and wrist injuries, the Australian opened up on how the recent off-court opportunities that have come to him have been just as appealing as competing again in a column this week for Australia's *Sydney Morning Herald* newspaper.

"The reality is, there is a part of me that knows my time in the sport may be over. And I’m OK with that," Kyrgios wrote. "It’s a conversation that needed to be had. I’m at a crossroads in my career and have reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me."

From his new series Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios to commentating during last season's ATP Finals and this year's Australian Open, Kyrgios hasn’t let his injuries remove him from the sport completely. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist has channeled his global platform and name into off-court accomplishments into opportunities that others "wish that they had," such as interviewing Rainn Wilson, Mike Tyson and Gordon Ramsay for his new Tennis Channel series that premieres this week.

"... The players on the circuit would love to be doing what I am doing now, but they have a different way of thinking," he continued. "Their entire world revolves around playing tennis, and that’s never been me."

Adding a robust media portfolio to his rehab process has helped Kyrgios “still feel that fire” for tennis, he said.

"Even over the past week being at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, I’ve been happy," Kyrgios wrote. "Of course, there’s a part of me watching on that would love nothing more than to be out there, especially after what I managed to do at Wimbledon 18 months ago in reaching the final against Novak Djokovic.

"I know I can be one of the best in the world and win major tournaments—if my body lets me. The fire still burns, but it’s not my everything."

But just because Kyrgios has been exploring passions that will sustain him in a post-playing career, doesn't mean that he's not planning for a return. He hopes to play later this year for Wimbledon and the US Open, and the Aussie took to Instagram following the publication of his column to refute any harsh retirement claims subsequently published in the press—dismissing them as "complete nonsense."

"Yes, the last year has been tough ... but I'm hungry as ever, constantly rehabbing in the gym," he said, assuring his supporters that there’s “plenty left in the tank."

You heard the man: There's no need to mourn what could've been with the so-called "bad boy" of tennis just yet.