Tennis News: Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios make a shocking announcement

Before the Australian Open in 2023, a country-level competition is set to unfold in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney. Only the top six WTA ranking-qualified countries, the top five ATP ranking-qualified countries and the top five combined entry countries will be allowed to compete.

The Australian eight-player lineup will feature Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomjanovic, Alex de Minaur, Jason Kubler, Maddison Inglis, Zoe Hives, and doubles stars John Peers and Samantha Stosur. 

Rafael Nadal has put concerns about his injury to rest and got listed in the Spanish lineup alongside number 13 Paula Badosa. Other players on the list include Norway's world number four Casper Ruud, Germany's Alexander Zverev, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, and Stan Wawrinka.

In addition, the dual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic has also been named. The tournament will occur from December 29, 2022, to January 8, 2023. 

Australia and Spain are in Group D, meaning Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal will play each other. Greece will enter as the top-ranked team for the tournament, with Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the helm. 

Andy Murray is hoping for significant changes in 2023

Wimbledon winner Andy Murray has revealed that he has been 'downbeat' about the injury blows he endured this season. His 2022 season consequently did not end on a good note. 

However, he is focused on making amends to his career in the upcoming season. In 2022, Andy Murray aimed to finish the season on a solid note to become one of the seeded contenders for the Australian Open.

His cramping issues made sure he couldn't. "I was pretty downbeat with the last few months," Andy Murray shared. "The last seven or eight tournaments, I had issues with cramping and I've never had that consistently. So, I'm extremely disappointed," he added. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas plans to make history at ATP Finals

Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will try to script history at the ATP Finals when he starts his campaign on November 13. The Greek won the esteemed tournament in 2019, and now, he could become the first player to become world number one without winning a Grand Slam. 

For that, he needs to proceed without losing a single match in the tournament. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, can still reclaim the top spot by the end of the season if he becomes a finalist through an undefeated round-robin stage or wins the trophy.

Rafael Nadal must ensure that he does not lose the final to an undefeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, or he could lose the number one ranking even if he enters the last without losing a single match.