And then on the tennis court, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. On Monday, Kyrgios was drawn to face a qualifier—since turning out to be Botic van de Zandschulp—with Novak Djokovic, of all players, awaiting the winner.
Getting to that marquee match will be a tall task for Kyrgios, however. While he’s been visible and vocal on social media as it relates to the Jannik Sinner saga, he hasn’t played on tour since mid-January. His only two matches this season were a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2) first-round defeat to Jacob Fearnley at the Australian Open—a match the 29-year-old indicated may have been his last singles showing in Melbourne Park—and a three-tiebreak loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in Brisbane.
Then there’s van de Zandschulp, who’s developed a reputation as a giant killer. The Dutchman defeated Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s US Open, then took out Rafael Nadal in what would turn out to be the Spaniard’s last professional match.
But the biggest concern of all is Kyrgios’ wrist. On this video posted Tuesday, Kyrgios stops his practice session with Sho Shimabukoro to hold his right wrist.