Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the upcoming
Australian Open Tuesday, saying he was unwell though he had been cleared of
COVID-19 infection. The Melbourne Park tournament organisers said he had
asthma.

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The 26-year-old tennis star, widely
considered as Australia’s best player despite his world ranking slipping to 93,
was due to start his season at Melbourne Park against Slovak Alex Molcan in a
night session.

“I’m really sorry that I’ve had to
pull out from this Melbourne Summer Set event,” Kyrgios said.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic willing to play in Australian Open 2022

“I have been feeling run down and
unwell for four days. I have had several COVID tests over the last few days
which all came back negative. I don’t feel 100 percent so I need to take this
week to be ready for Sydney (Classic) next week,” he added.

Kyrgios has not played since the Laver Cup
in late September, citing a knee injury, with his comeback now scheduled for
the Sydney Classic from January 9.

Also Read: Rafael Nadal tests COVID positive after returning from Abu Dhabi to Spain

Last week, US Open champion Emma Raducanu pulled
out of the Australian Open’s warm-up tournament in Melbourne after having just
come out of COVID-19 isolation.

Radacanu had come out of COVID-19 isolation
after testing positive for the virus. She had pulled out of the Mubadala World
Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last month due to Covid-19.

Also Read: We’ll see: Novak Djokovic on his Australian Open participation amid vaccine mandate

Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to
win a grand slam when she reigned supreme at US Open, was scheduled to headline
one of the two women’s WTA 250 warm-up tournaments taking place at Melbourne
Park — dubbed the ‘Melbourne Summer Set’ — from January 4 to 9.

Also Read: Australian Open chief’s stern warning to Novak Djokovic: No vaccine, no play

Meanwhile, there is still no confirmation
from defending champion Novak Djokovic about his availability for the year’s
first grand slam tournament. Djokovic has refused to reveal his vaccination
update, whereas the Australian Open organisers have urged players to reveal their vaccination status before coming to Melbourne.

The Australian Open begins on January 17.