Nick Kyrgios opened the door to a career in boxing by saying, “There are a few people I want to reach out to.''
The Australian tennis star is one of the sport's biggest names despite having played just one match on the ATP Tour since October 2022.
The 29-year-old has been sidelined with serious knee and wrist injuries, but Kyrgios hopes to return soon.
After reaching the Wimbledon final in 2022 and winning the Australian Open doubles title in the same year, Kyrgios began thinking about what would happen next.
In a Q&A posted on his Instagram page on Monday, Kyrgios was asked if he would consider stepping into the boxing ring in the future, and he had a clear answer.
Kyrgios said: “Yes, I will do that once my tennis career is over. There are some people I would like to reach out to!”
He was later asked if he was planning to fight Piers Morgan, with whom he has had a famous feud in the past, to which he replied: “No, we're friends now!”
This may be music to the ears of former rival Bernard Tomic, who called Kyrgios to a boxing match in 2022.
Tomic said at the time: “First of all, let's set the record straight here. The current score is 1-0. I beat you once before. I'll beat you again whenever you want. Every time I play “Dominating you.'' Playing, training, you know it.
“You say you're good at basketball, but I'll beat you too.''
“Tennis? I'll dominate you one on one. I'll let you play on the grass whenever you want so you don't make excuses.”
“You know what? Let's settle this in the boxing ring. Put on your gloves. I'll dominate you there too. Let's see who's better once and for all.”
Reacting to the video at the time, Kyrgios said: “Maybe someday, when my career has settled down, I can do it with my brother someday.
“But right now my mind is full of preparations for tournaments like Wimbledon. I hope everything is going well, but let's put this to bed and we'll talk together when I speak to you about whether you can get back to the top” on the main tour.
“But for now, I think you have bigger challenges ahead of you in life, so good luck.”
