Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the ATP Tour event in North Carolina in a dramatic last-minute call.
The on-court MC informs spectators that Kyrgios has withdrawn. Some harsh boos in response. Andy Murray will play lucky loser Noah Rubin in 20 minutes. Rubin only lost his qualifying match against Lucas Pouille about 25 minutes ago.
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) August 22, 2021
The Australian was about to walk out for his match with Andy Murray when it was announced to the crowd that Kyrgios had withdrawn from the tournament.
The ATP Winston-Salem Open has not announced the reason for Kyrgios’ last-second withdrawal, however, reports indicate he has been grappling with a left knee injury with the US Open beginning on Monday, August 30.
The withdrawal maintains a disappointing run for Kyrgios since he returned to the sport at Wimbledon in July.
He was forced to pull out halfway through his third-round match at the All England Club against Felix Auger Aliassime with an abdominal injury, before pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics.
Kyrgios posted a cryptic message to his Instagram stories after his withdrawal was announced by the tournament.
His post of a cartoon character smoking a cigarette, included the caption: “Never regret anything that made you smile”.
