Melbourne VIC, Australia, 3 June 2016 | Steve Healy

Tennis Australia President, Steve Healy:

“We understand Nick’s decision and totally support him and his right to make it.

“But we are very disappointed that he has been put in this position.

“Nick is a passionate competitor and he’s working hard to learn and mature in a highly pressurised environment where he is under constant public scrutiny.

“As we’ve said recently Nick’s performances this year have improved. His growing maturity is reflected in his on court performance, with only world No.1 Novak Djokovic defeating more top ten players than Nick has this year.

“He has received support from a lot of other tennis players and athletes.

“But now Nick has made this difficult decision we should let him focus on his tennis without further distraction.”