Nishikori Ends 2017 Season With Right Wrist Injury

Kei Nishikori announced on Wednesday that he will miss the rest of the 2017 ATP World Tour season in order to recover from a right wrist injury.

The Japanese star flew to Cincinnati, but withdrew from the Western & Southern Open when he felt a sharp pain in his right wrist during a practice session on Sunday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

A statement from Nishikori’s manager read, “Two days ago during practice in Cincinnati, Kei hit a serve and heard a ‘pop’ in his wrist. We went straight to the hospital to take an MRI. Yesterday, we went to see a very renowned wrist specialist, who works with many of the MLB baseball pitchers.

“We saw another specialist today to get a second opinion. On top of that we have sent MRI results to three other wrist specialists to ensure we get several independent opinions from specialists. After consulting with all of them, it has become clear that Kei has a tear in one of the tendons in the right wrist.

“At this stage, we have elected not to do surgery and Kei is in a cast. After the swelling comes down in the next weeks, we will evaluate next steps. Kei will withdraw from all the 2017 tournaments and work hard to be ready for next year.”

Nishikori, who is currently No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, ends 2017 with a 30-13 match record, including two final runs at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp in January (l. to Dimitrov) and the Argentina Open in February (l. to Dolgopolov).

Recently, Novak Djokovic (right elbow) and Stan Wawrinka (knee) also announced their decision to recuperate from injury and return in 2018.