Nishikori and the inevitable destiny of time... towards retirement?

Andrés Tomás Rico | 16 Jun 2025 | 19.15

Nishikori and the inevitable destiny of time, towards a retirement? Photo: Getty Images.

Streaming Challenger Milan live tennis

🎾 Facundo Diaz Acosta vs Marco Cecchinato

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

Kei Nishikori continues to withdraw from tournaments. First, it was at the Conde de Godó, where he received a wildcard entry, then he skipped Rome, retired in the second round of Geneva, and pulled out of Roland Garros. While preparing for the grass court swing, he announced that he will not be participating in Wimbledon. The Japanese, who once reached number four in the world, has been plagued by various injuries in recent years, hindering him from showcasing the tennis skills still within his racket.

And I say "still" because last year, after a first-round exit at Wimbledon 2024, he embarked on a series of good results and performances in various tournaments. He reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Canada, did not compete in the US Open, and went on to play several clay court Challengers in September. He returned to competition against top players once again (quarterfinals in Tokyo and second round in Shanghai). At the end of the year, he competed in more Challengers, reaching the semifinals in Bratislava and winning the title in Helsinki, a feat not achieved since 2019.

A Promising 2025

He climbed from number 581 to 132 in four months, and the outlook for 2025 was very positive. This optimism was reinforced when he made it to the final of the ATP 250 in Hong Kong in the first week of the year. With this result, he returned to the Top 100, specifically ranking 76th, demonstrating that despite being 35 years old, if injuries allowed, he could establish himself in the upper echelons of the rankings once again and contend for titles, while defeating players ranked in the Top 10 and Top 20.

Subsequently, his results were not as favorable, yet he maintained his position in the top 70 as the clay court swing approached, where he had won the Conde de Godó title twice before (2014, 2015). In fact, he received a wildcard entry for the Barcelona main draw, but it was then that his back issues resurfaced, bringing back the nightmare of injuries.

Initially, it seemed like minor discomforts because he played in Madrid, although he fell in the second round against Denis Shapovalov, but then he had to withdraw from Rome. He returned in Geneva, but in his second match, his back sent a warning once more, this time in the form of an injury that forced him to withdraw from Roland Garros.

There were not high expectations for Nishikori during the grass court swing, but his confirmed absence from Wimbledon confirms that the Japanese player is still struggling with that back injury. It remains to be seen if he can recover for the hard court swing in the United States and still showcase the exceptional tennis that captivated the tennis world in the mid-2010s.

We should savor watching Nishikori while we can because the signs indicate that retirement is a very likely option, given his injury history in recent years. Hip surgery in 2022, ankle and left knee problems in 2023, and recent shoulder and back discomfort suggest that the Japanese player might be contemplating retirement, as he himself confirmed in 2023 after undergoing hip surgery. His intention is to continue playing tennis, but fate, along with injuries, seem to increasingly point towards retirement.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nishikori y el irremediable destino del tiempo... ¿hacia una retirada?

ATP