Edmund focus turns to 2019 after knee injury rules him out of Paris Masters
Kyle Edmund’s breakthrough season ended in unexpected fashion last night, when he made a lastminute withdrawal from the Paris Masters after an MRI scan on his left knee.
The results were inconclusive, but Edmund is at the stage where he is already thinking about 2019. Rather than squeezing a few extra dollars from the last Masters event of the year, his priority is to keep climbing the ladder next season.
Edmund had acknowledged he is not interested in serving as an alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Even though he stands at No13 in the race, he would have had a decent chance of earning that back-up role – not to mention the $110,000 (£86,000) that goes with – had he claimed a couple of wins in Paris. Only a few hours before his withdrawal, Edmund said he would rather start preparing for January’s Australian swing than hang around the O2 Arena in the hope of picking up somebody’s leavings.
This knee issue has been bothering Edmund only for a couple of days, and is expected to clear up with a little rest. But as we move towards his off-season training block, the bigger question surrounds his susceptibility to illness and fatigue. There were two periods this year: first after the Australian Open and then after Wimbledon; when he struggled with unspecified viruses.
Without those setbacks, Edmund might well have finished among the eight leading players of the season.
As it is, his support staff have been looking into other options to help him cope with his training load. One possibility would be a tonsillectomy. Another might be some kind of heavy-duty medication.
Yet Edmund’s robust form of 10 wins from 13 matches, including a maiden ATP title in Antwerp, has made surgical intervention less likely. “It depends on what the doctors think,” he said, “but at the minute I’m feeling OK [energy-wise], so we haven’t really had the need.”