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Kei Nishikori has suffered a setback in his quest to return from injury. The former top 10 player is now expected to rejoin the tour in 2023.
Nishikori, 32, has not played since Indian Wells last October (third-round loss to Daniel Evans) due to a back injury, ruling him out of the 2021 season. The Japanese subsequently withdrew from this year's Australian Open and underwent arthroscopic hip surgery.
In June, the player sounded hopeful of returning to action at the US Open, which did not pan out. Nishikori had hoped to hit the courts at his home tournament - the Japan Open - in October, but that didn't happen either.
Eminent journalist Ben Rothenberg has now tweeted that Nishikori has had an ankle sprain in practice that will require 'three to four weeks off'. So the player has decided to put off his comeback to 2023 and have a decent off-season.
Nishikori has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. In 2017, he suffered a wrist injury that kept him out of action for many weeks and forced him to remodel his serve and forehand.
Now out of the ATP rankings due to inactivity, Nishikori knows time is running out for him to return to the game's top echelons once again.
Kei Nishikori's career highlights
Kei Nishikori (431-211) is one of a handful of players to have won over 400 singles matches.
The two-time Tokyo winner enjoyed the best week of his career at the 2014 US Open. Nishikori beat former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before falling to Marin Cilic in an all-first-time Grand Slam final.
Nishikori has also reached four Masters 1000 finals — Madrid, Miami, Canada, Monte Carlo — losing twice apiece to Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The 32-year-old's last title match on tour was at Brisbane 2019, where he won his 12th and latest singles title — beating another former World No. 1 — Daniil Medvedev.
Kei Nishikori has reached the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slams — four at the Australian Open, three at Roland Garros, two at Wimbledon, and three at the US Open — where he has reached two semifinals (apart from his final run).
The former top 10 player has appeared four times at the season-ending ATP Finals — reaching the semifinals twice (2014, 2016) — losing to Djokovic on both occasions.
He will now hope for a fresh start in 2023 following a long injury layoff. It's not yet known if he'll play at the Australian Open.
