Tennis fans were already upset with Rafael Nadal announcing his withdrawal from the 2023 French Open on Thursday, May 18. They were angered further when a journalist brought Nick Kyrgios into the equation.A failure to recover from a hip injury that he picked up at the Australian Open in January forced Nadal to withdraw from his favorite and most successful tournament - Roland Garros - for the first time since 2004. In a press conference, the 14-time French Open champion remarked that 2024 would be his final season on the professional tour and that he wanted to bow out on his terms.Kyrgios, on the other hand, is yet to play a tour-level singles match since the Japan Open in October 2022. A knee injury kept him on the sidelines for months. As he was about to regain his fitness, the Australian suffered a cut on his foot when a man held his mother at gunpoint before stealing his car in Canberra a few days ago.Before Nadal's press conference, journalist Jon Wertheim took to social media to share Kyrgios' story and wrote:"Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros."Fans were infuriated upon seeing the comparison between Nadal and Kyrgios, who hasn't played in the French Open since 2017. Moreover, the Australian's best result at Roland Garros is a third-round appearance."So ridiculous trying to equate the two somehow. Nadal is one of the legends of this sport. NK is toxic bully who only got to a GS final because a bunch of top players were banned from playing the tournament & he was gifted a walkover in the SF," a fan tweeted.S 🎾 ◥ ◤@Eneri918@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros So ridiculous trying to equate the two somehow🙄 Nadal is one of the legends of this sport.. NK is toxic bully who only got to a GS final because a bunch of top players were banned from playing the tournament & he was gifted a walkover in the SF.18@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros So ridiculous trying to equate the two somehow🙄 Nadal is one of the legends of this sport.. NK is toxic bully who only got to a GS final because a bunch of top players were banned from playing the tournament & he was gifted a walkover in the SF."The level of delusion is actually insane. you rep a player that skips an entire surface bc it exposes their lack of proper point construction, tennis IQ and fitness. what the fuck are you on about," a user wrote.nic@NlCSFthe level of delusion is actually insane. you rep a player that skips an entire surface bc it exposes their lack of proper point construction, tennis IQ and fitness what the fuck are you on about twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Jon Wertheim@jon_wertheimEven if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…48Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…the level of delusion is actually insane. you rep a player that skips an entire surface bc it exposes their lack of proper point construction, tennis IQ and fitness what the fuck are you on about 😭 twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…"You could have perfectly mentioned kyrgios's story and not included Nadal's name especially in a day when many fans will pour out emotions for this one man," another tweet read.swe_li@li_mohap@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros You could have perfectly mentioned kyrgios's story and not included Nadal's name especially in a day when many fans will pour out emotions for this one man.8@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros You could have perfectly mentioned kyrgios's story and not included Nadal's name especially in a day when many fans will pour out emotions for this one man.Here are some more reactions:Hakaishin@RhuladSengar@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros Are you so desperate for clicks that you have to resort to this kind of disrespectful garbage? A bit of tact maybe, especially on this day.4@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros Are you so desperate for clicks that you have to resort to this kind of disrespectful garbage? A bit of tact maybe, especially on this day.pat@1hbhdtlmentioning his name after rafa's is shameless twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Jon Wertheim@jon_wertheimEven if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…288Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…mentioning his name after rafa's is shameless twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Walker 🏳️‍⚧️@rafolejanYou should lose your media credentials for comparing them twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Jon Wertheim@jon_wertheimEven if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…31Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…You should lose your media credentials for comparing them twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…maria@st6fanosdont put the legend that nadal is next to #him twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Jon Wertheim@jon_wertheimEven if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…68Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…dont put the legend that nadal is next to #him twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Early Evening@npr40@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros Never these two in the same sentence!9@jon_wertheim @rolandgarros Never these two in the same sentence!Derek@Derek_RFLol who cares? He hasn’t played RG in 6 years and sucks on clay anyways twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Jon Wertheim@jon_wertheimEven if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…58Even if today’s Nadal announcement goes as planned, there will be a more recent Major finalist to miss ⁦@rolandgarros⁩ - ….c/o ESPN apple.news/AkDlLOAJFToa1h…Lol who cares? He hasn’t played RG in 6 years and sucks on clay anyways twitter.com/jon_wertheim/s…Kim@Saint_Gerrard@josemorgado Honestly, to even bring this low life up in the breath as Nadal's announcement is pretty shocking. Who has even missed him?3@josemorgado Honestly, to even bring this low life up in the breath as Nadal's announcement is pretty shocking. Who has even missed him?Rafael Nadal hopes to win titles next year2023 Australian OpenIn his press conference, Rafael Nadal vowed to make a comeback and compete for the biggest titles next year. The Spaniard made it clear that he didn't want to say goodbye to tennis outside of the court.“I’ve worked hard enough throughout my career for my end not to be in a press conference,” he said. "I’m going to try to make my last year not just a party, I'm going to try to compete at the highest level, give myself the option to try to compete and win tournaments on this clay tour."Nadal has struggled with numerous injuries since winning the 2022 French Open and has a 1-3 record this year.