Nick Kyrgios served a reminder of his strong grasscourt capabilities in his return to tennis on Wednesday morning (AEST), upsetting world No.36 Corentin Moutet in the first round of the ATP event in Stuttgart.
In his first match on the surface in three years, and his first singles match since this year’s Brisbane International, Kyrgios needed just 69 minutes to defeat the Frenchman.
The Wimbledon 2022 finalist fired eight aces in the 6-3 6-4 victory, setting up a second-round match with Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro.
Having recovered from wrist reconstruction and four knee surgeries over the past four years, the 31-year-old’s first singles win in 15 months was an emotional affair.
“It’s quite emotional, to be honest. I’ve had a lot of surgeries and just to come back here, I felt the love from the get go. I’m so thrilled to be back and playing some high-level tennis as well,” said Kyrgios, who had most recently won at the 2025 Miami Open prior to Stuttgart.
“I’m just pleased with the way I played today and I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling in my body. I’ve been putting in a lot of work so I’m just really happy to be back.”
With a 37-19 tour-level record on grass, the two-time Stuttgart semifinalist is grateful not only to return on his favourite surface, but to the German tournament for the first time since that most recent 2023 outing on grass.
“It’s a hell of a surface that’s for sure. This is where tennis started its tradition. You think of tennis and you think of the rich culture it has and this is where it all started," he said.
“I feel comfortable on it and Stuttgart has always been a nice place for me on the calendar. I’ve always played it even when I was battling through injury, I tried to show up and I tried to play. It’s a really good event and I’m really happy that I got a win.”
Meanwhile, James Duckworth and Rinky Hijikata joined Kyrgios in the last 16 after also triumphing on Tuesday at the ATP 250 event.
Both playing German wildcards, Duckworth defeated Diego Dedura 6-4 6-3, while Hijikata came from a set down to prevail against Tom Gentzsch 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3.
They both face seeded opponents in the next matches, facing Jiri Lehecka and Frances Tiafoe respectively.
Elsewhere, Maddison Inglis came close to continuing her impressive run in Queen’s, narrowly falling to seventh seed Sorana Cirstea in her first-round match.
The qualifier lost 6-4 5-7 6-2 in a match spanning almost two and a half hours.
Watch the ATP and WTA tours LIVE & ON-DEMAND on beIN SPORTS.