Enigmatic tennis star Nick Kyrgios has shown an incredible sign of maturity by seeking out professional help to overcome his mental health issues in order to take his game to the next level.
Kyrgios' season ended prematurely as he took time off to deal with an ongoing elbow injury, with his last appearance coming in October when he retried at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
While his physical health has let him down, Kyrgios' Achilles heel has been his mental struggles throughout his career as a number of on-court meltdown's have hampered his potential.
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Currently in Australia preparing to put on a show for home fans at the next grand slam, the 23-year-old revealed he has taken extra measures to improve his overall game.
“I was obviously struggling with a couple of things on and off the court this year, so it hasn’t been easy,” Kyrgios told The Canberra Times.
“But I’m starting to see some psychologists and trying to get on top of my mental health.
“I probably left it a little too long. But I’ve been doing that and I feel more open about talking about it, I don’t feel like I’ve got to hide that sort of stuff any more.”
After starting the year ranked world number 21, the divisive Kyrgios was eclipsed by rising star Alex de Minaur - who sits on a career-high ranking of 31 - as the highest-ranked Australian male.
It came after an umpire controversially game him a mid-match pep talk during the US Open as he appeared on track for a shock early exit in the second round.
Signs of a breakthrough season appeared after he claimed a fourth career title at the Brisbane International before reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier in the year.
But he wasn't able to replicate the same success throughout the year, bowing out in the third round at Wimbledon and the US Open with only the single victory from 16 tournaments.
Although his return to the doubles court was promising, Kyrgios hadn't played a singles match since the Houston Open in mid-April before the grass court season swung into action.
