Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has been forced to withdraw from the Atlanta Open only moments before he was set to compete, taking to the court to break the news to a stadium of disappointed fans.

Kyrgios was to play Peter Gojowczyk from Germany in the first round in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 27 but after struggling with a shoulder injury during his most recent Wimbledon campaign and a persistent knee complaint, the world No. 47 was forced to forgo the match.

Kyrgios addressed the crowd of tennis fans directly, explaining that he was “extremely shattered that I’m not able to compete tonight”.

“I’ve won this tournament once and am probably playing some of the best tennis of my career and all I wanted to do was come out here and give you guys a show,” he said.

“I’m not able to give out my best performance and I’m extremely sorry and I’m going to keep my hopes up that I may be able to continue doubles with Thanasi (Kokkinakis).

“I hope you won’t be too hard on me … I love you guys and hopefully next year I will be able to compete and give it my all.”

French player Adrian Mannarino took Kyrgios’ place in the match and defeated Gojowczyk 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Despite the Atlanta crowd being left disappointed that they wouldn’t see Kyrgios compete, fans on social media offered nothing but praise for Australian tennis star for being “nice enough to address the crowd”.

Many more wished Kyrgios a speedy recovery from his current injury woes.

Kyrgios recently missed out on winning his first grand slam title after losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets during the Wimbledon men’s final at Centre Court on Sunday, July 10.

Following his loss, an exhausted Kyrgios was in awe at the level of play Djokovic exhibited during the match.

“He’s a bit of a God,” Kyrgios said.

“I’m not going to lie, I thought I played well.”