Nick Kyrgios pulls out of Halle Open to focus on Wimbledon fitness

Nick Kyrgios will miss this week's ATP tournament in Germany due to knee problems, but he remains optimistic about playing at Wimbledon.

The Australian played his first tournament since October in Stuttgart last week after undergoing surgery on his left knee in January.

But he complained afterwards about feeling inhibited during a first-round loss to China's Wu Yibing and has made the decision not to play in Halle.

"Very unfortunate news that I won't be able to compete at Halle this year," Kyrgios said in a video on the tournament's Twitter feed.

"I'm still dealing with a couple of things in my knee, just trying to give myself the best opportunity to compete at Wimbledon. As you all know, that tournament means a lot to me and I just want to do everything right by my body.

"I didn't want to go out there and not give you the same performance I gave last year. So hopefully next year I'll be healthy enough to play."

Kyrgios enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, with the highlight a run to his first grand slam singles final at Wimbledon, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic.

When the 28-year-old announced he would need to go under the knife on the eve of the Australian Open, it was hoped he would only be out for a matter of weeks and the fact he is still experiencing problems is a real cause for concern.

After losing in Stuttgart, Kyrgios wrote on Twitter: "Be patient with me my fans please... It's a process to get back to where I was. I know it's hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was."