‘I think that would be a pretty nice combination’: Nick Kyrgios reveals dream mixed doubles partner

Although Nick Kyrgios has been sidelined from playing competitive tennis, for the time being, he still clearly has the sport on his mind after revealing his desire to play alongside a fellow Australian tennis legend.

In a recent interview for the Tennis Channel, Kyrgios was asked which legend he would love to play mixed doubles with, revealing that former World No.1 Ash Barty was his dream tennis partner.

“I don’t think me and Ashleigh Barty ever teamed-up, but I think that would be a pretty nice combination,” Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios’ dream partner will likely remain just that as earlier this year Barty sent shockwaves through the world of tennis by announcing her retirement from the sport at just 25 years old.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ash Barty (@ashbarty)

Alongside her former doubles partner, Casey Dellacqua, the World No.1 took to Instagram to announce the move on Wednesday, March 23, telling fans “today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis.”

“I wasn’t sure how to share this news with you so I asked my good friend @caseydellacqua to help me. I am so thankful for everything this sport has given me and leave feeling proud and fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, I’ll always be grateful for the lifelong memories that we created together,” she said at the time.

Barty began playing tennis at the age of four. She was the second Australian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association and is also a three-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Never one to shy away from stirring up controversy, Kyrgios recently stirred up retirement rumours of his own when he hinted that he may be hanging up his racquet and stepping away from the tennis court.

Kyrgios hinted at a possible early retirement during a recent question and answer live stream on social media.

“Make it interesting, entertain me & I’ll entertain back,” he said, prompting his followers.

When one fan asked the 27-year-old whether he would still be competing past the age of 30, Kyrgios took fans by surprise when he revealed it didn’t appear likely.

“Honestly, probably not,” he replied.

“I wanna be able to not be bothered, probs gonna go to my house in the Bahamas and just sit and do nothing.”

In the meantime, Kyrgios remains in recovery mode after he was forced to withdraw from the Japan Open due to injury concerns mere moments before he was set to take the court for his quarter-final face-off against Taylor Fritz.

Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of tonight’s quarter-final, sending Taylor Fritz through to the semi-finals in Tokyo.

Get better soon, @NickKyrgios ????????#RakutenOpen pic.twitter.com/mLyuLi9QMD

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 7, 2022

Following his impressive doubles 6-1 6-2 win alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis and his crushing 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Tseng Chun-hsin, Kyrgios’ stellar run at the tournament came to an end after the 27-year-old cited an ongoing knee injury as the reason for his withdrawal.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” he told reporters at Ariake Colosseum Arena.

“It’s one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve had great memories here. It’s heartbreaking, but I’ll be here next year. That’s for sure.

“I’ve been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around the US Open time.

“I got back home and probably didn’t take enough time off, to be honest. I went straight back into training.

“When your body lets you down, it’s not a good feeling. I know in this case it’s probably overloading rather than not being fit enough. I think it’s almost being too excited to get on the court and maybe training a little bit too much. So it’s positive, but heartbreaking at the same time.”