The Aussie star has enjoyed a remarkable second half to the season having reached the Wimbledon final, claim the Citi Open title and reach the quarter-final of the US Open.
But, Kyrgios’ Wimbledon points didn’t count and he only just gained a seeding for the US Open a week before the tournament.
Yet the Australian has reached World No.20 in a reflection of his form this year.
This still falls short of his career-high ranking of World No.13, which he would have most likely bettered if it wasn’t for Wimbledon.
Kyrgios has been vocal about the poor reflection of the ATP rankings, due to the Wimbledon debacle, and two victories over former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev on hard courts this season only cemented his claim.
“The ranking system doesn’t reward skill and form, to be honest, over a certain period of time,” he said before his loss at the US Open.
“It definitely rewards consistency, more so. I’ve played 12 events. Some of the people in front of me have played 32.
“Obviously, it’s almost impossible for me to be higher ranked unless I’m going deep like this in tournaments. The rankings for me doesn’t really matter.
“I feel like tonight was another message that rankings don’t matter.”
Kyrgios’ immediate tennis future in 2022 remains unclear.
After the brutal loss to Karen Khachanov in the quarter-final, the Australian was dejected and wanted to return home to see his family.
“Honestly, I don’t even really care about any other tournament. Now having success at a grand slam, it’s just like no other tournament really matters,” Kyrgios said before leaving New York.
“That’s all people remember at a grand slam, whether you win or you lose. I think pretty much every other tournament during the year is a waste of time, really.”
Having cut his 2021 campaign short after the Laver Cup exhibition event last September, Kyrgios has zero ranking points to defend between now and the end of the year.
Although the Australian hasn’t signalled when he would return to the ATP Tour in 2022
Any points he accrues will be gold and go a long way towards securing an all-important top-16 seeding for the Australian Open, a tournament that dearly matters to Kyrgios.
A top-16 seeding at Melbourne Park would guarantee Kyrgios avoids running into a higher-ranked rival until at least the second week.
