Former finalist Kei Nishikori announced his withdrawal from the Miami Open presented by Itau on Thursday, citing a back injury ahead of his opener at the ATP Masters 1000.
The Japanese 35-year-old reached the semi-finals of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Phoenix last week, where he fell to the eventual champion Joao Fonseca. Nishikori, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2016 Miami final, was scheduled to play countryman Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round on Thursday.
“Unfortunately I have to pull out of the @MiamiOpen today,” Nishikori, the former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, wrote on X. “My body has not recovered enough from the matches last week. I will now go home and get ready for the clay court season.”
Unfortunately I have to pull out of the @MiamiOpen today. My body has not recovered enough from the matches last week. I will now go home and get ready for the clay court season.
— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) March 20, 2025
Nishikori has been hampered by various injuries since undergoing hip surgery in 2022. The 12-time ATP Tour champion played just one tour-level event in 2023 before making his comeback at the end of the 2024 season. After reaching the quarter-finals at his home ATP 500 in Tokyo and winning a Challenger Tour event in Helsinki, Nishikori was nominated for ATP's Comeback Player of the Year in 2024.
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