Kyle Edmund formed part of the Great Britain squad that savoured a historic Davis Cup triumph in 2015. In 2018, with potential very much being unlocked, he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the third round of major events in Paris and southwest London.
A first ATP Tour title was also claimed that year when seeing off Gael Monfils in Antwerp, with a serious challenge mounted for a top 10 standing on a prestigious world rankings list.
With Andy Murray taking in an enforced break at that time, Edmund was the British No.1 and a man going places in a hurry.
Targets
Unfortunately, the going has become a lot tougher since then. There is no place for him near the top of the US Open 2022 tennis odds – a market topped by 6/5 favourite Novak Djokovic – as he is currently priced at 250/1 as his sights are currently having to be set much lower than a Grand Slam stage.
In July 2022, Edmund took in competitive action on a tennis court for the first time in 21 months. His last outing prior to that had come in October 2020, with a long and winding road allowing him to rub shoulders with the sporting elite once more. He has said of that arduous journey: “I didn’t pick up a racket for five or six months. I just wanted to play tennis.”
Edmund has never been one to shy away from such challenges, with a scenic route taken to the top of his chosen profession. Born in South Africa, he moved to Tickton – just outside of Beverley – at an early age and trekked the county fine-tuning his skill set once it became apparent that he boasted prodigious talent.
It takes a certain type of character to put up with endless hours on the road while putting in the graft that will ultimately deliver the desired end result. You have to want it more than anybody else and be able to see through the dark days towards the light at the end of a tunnel.
Training Hard ?? pic.twitter.com/vxmftPXh6D
— Kyle Edmund (@kyle8edmund) November 27, 2020
Edmund has shown himself to be capable of ticking all of those boxes as an aspiring hopeful and a talented professional and has added about his route back to the tennis circuit: “If I didn’t love it, it would have been easy to walk away. There were plenty of opportunities to do that.”
What’s next?
Having once again decided to favour a difficult option over a much easier one, Edmund is in many ways having to start all over again. He is back on the Challenger Tour, sitting outside of the top 400, and will feel a long way from the Davis Cup finals and last-four showdowns in Melbourne.
He has scaled those heights in the past and, with time still on his side, will believe that his star can soar once more. It does, however, remain to be seen whether an eventful career path can once again guide him from East Yorkshire and back to New York.
