An emotional Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the US Open Sunday, for “the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives”, while pleading with players who attend to not be selfish and act responsibly.
His decision follows fellow Australian and world number one Ashleigh Barty last week withdrawing from the Grand Slam in New York, citing “significant risks” from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Dear Tennis, I will not be playing this year at the US Open. It hurts me at my core,” Kyrgios, who has consistently called out fellow competitors for not taking the virus seriously enough, said in a video posted on Twitter.
“But I’m sitting out for the people, for my Aussies, for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives, for all of you.”
More than 150,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, with over 4.5 million infections since the beginning of the pandemic. (Punch)