Nick Kyrgios ‘Quite Emotional’ Following Straight Sets Win in Stuttgart Comeback

Nick Kyrgios marked his comeback to competitive singles with a sensational straight-set victory over Corentin Moutet in the Stuttgart Open final. The former World No. 13’s return marks a notable step forward in his career following a prolonged spell away from the tour. He’s competing at the ATP event on a wildcard and without ranking protection.

Kyrgios had not played a singles match since appearing at the Brisbane International in January, when he fell to World No.58 Aleksandar Kovacevic in just an hour and six minutes. It was his first match on tour after playing a couple of exhibition matches during the off-season, including the Battle of the Sexes clash against Aryna Sabalenka.

However, the Australian star has had his sheer struggles with injuries. She missed the entire 2024 season due to injuries and has won just one singles match since October 2022, heading into the Stuttgart Open. But all that was set aside on the grass court in Germany as Kyrgios avoided breakpoints throughout his clash against Moutet.

In just an hour and nine minutes, Kyrgios won the clash 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the tournament. The former Wimbledon finalist’s tactics repeatedly neutralized Moutet’s return games with high first-serve efficiency. The results represented his first singles victory since March 2025 and first on grass since July 2022.

Ahead of the tournament, there were not many expectations for Kyrgios, as he had often lost matches after returning from injury. After the victory, the 31-year-old was almost in tears, admitting that it was quite an emotional victory for him after years of struggles with injuries and undergoing several surgeries:

Quite an emotional moment. I had a lot of surgeries and I’m very thrilled to be back. I had a wrist reconstruction, and I had four knee surgeries, but at the same time I’ve put in a lot of work, I’m really feeling good about myself. I’m back mostly because of the fans. I’m staying with you guys. Quite an emotional moment. I had a lot of surgeries and I’m very thrilled to be back.

The last time Kyrgios won a match on grass was at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships against Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals. He won the match in straight sets but lost to Novak Djokovic in the championship match. After that, he suffered a knee injury and tore his wrist ligament, both of which required serious surgery, especially the knee, which had to be operated on four times.

Nick Kyrgios says he will “hang around” on tour “a little longer”

Nick Kyrgios was written off on tour and was not seen as a player who would come back from a series of injuries and win matches. In fact, he admitted last year that he was close to retiring from the tour, having engaged in several off-court activities, which took his attention off the problems with his injuries that limited his career.

This season, Kyrgios made some strategic changes in his life, reducing his time on social media and focusing on himself rather than questioning other players’ mistakes on tour. During the aforementioned post-match press conference, he admitted that he sometimes asked himself the reason behind his comeback on tour:

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. 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. 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].

Kyrgios will face Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro, ranked World No.101 in the second round of the Stuttgart Open on Thursday (June 11). But before that, he will compete in the doubles category alongside Kazakhstan star Alexander Bublik.

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