Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Laver Cup with a shoulder injury, his Team World captain John McEnroe has announced.
The Australian’s decision follows the earlier withdrawal of Rafael Nadal, who pulled out on Sunday morning due to inflammation in his hand.
“Nick’s shoulder has been bugging him. He was talking about it last night,” McEnroe said.
“I don’t know what to tell you other than we wanted him to come out 100 per cent and he didn’t feel like he could. So that means we’ve got to put somebody else in.”
American Taylor Fritz has been named as Kyrgios’s replacement.
Kyrgios and Jack Sock had kept Team World within reach of Team Europe heading into the final day with victory in Saturday’s doubles rubber.
A pumped-up Kyrgios and Sock teamed up to overcome Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 10-6, to secure two crucial points and leave the overall score at 7-5 in favour of the Europeans.
But early on Sunday Nadal announced he was pulling out, denying fans the opportunity to see him partner Roger Federer in the doubles on the final day of the tournament in Geneva.
“I’ve had an amazing time playing at the Laver Cup and I’m so disappointed I’m not able to play again today, but I have some inflammation in my hand and I need to rest,” Nadal said in a statement.
“The atmosphere has been amazing in Geneva and of course I’m going to be there courtside today for all my teammates and do everything I can to support them and help Team Europe win the Laver Cup.”
Federer instead played with Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and they were beaten by the Americans 5-7 6-4 10-8 to give the World team the lead overall.
Nadal will be replaced in the doubles by Stefanos Tsitsipas while Dominic Thiem will take his place in the singles.
Team Europe led 7-5 heading into Sunday with the first side to reach 13 points crowned champions. Each win is worth three points on Sunday.
In other singles matches, Federer squares off against John Isner while Alexander Zverev meets Milo Raonic.