Australia’s highest ranked tennis player and world ranked number 23 Nick Kyrgios has been testing out his troublesome elbow in a tournament in Lyon, in the week leading up to this year’s French Open at Roland Garros beginning this Sunday.
Kyrgios has battled the elbow injury since Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Germany in early February. Undergoing physio treatment, rest and cortisone injections, he returned to Australia for treatment and took five weeks break from competitive tennis only returning to competition last week to play doubles with American Jack Sock in the Lyon Open, to test the elbow before deciding whether he’ll compete at Roland Garros.
There has been some speculation as to whether Kyrgios will compete at the French Grand Slam event given that the tennis played on the slower clay courts is less suited to his style than the faster grass courts of Wimbledon, and that his elbow may not be ready for the taxing demands of clay court tennis.
Looking further ahead, it seems Kyrgios will have a surprise doubles partner to help him prepare for Wimbledon after it was announced that Davis Cup coach Lleyton Hewitt will partner Kyrgios at the Queens tournament, the traditional lead up event to Wimbledon. Hewitt, who retired officially from singles at the start of 2016, has partnered a number of his fellow Australians in doubles events since retirement.
Also preparing for Wimbledon, will be Thanassis Kokkinakis who earlier this week missed out of qualifying for the French Open when he lost in a second round qualifier to Estonian jurgen Zopp.
Like his compatriot Kyrgios, kokkinakis has also just resumed playing following a five week lay-off due to a knee injury sustained in the Madrid Masters.
Kokkinakis will now concentrate on preparing for the grass courts of Wimbledon, by returning to the French Riviera to train at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy.