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In a cruel twist, Nick Kyrgios is set to tumble down the rankings even if he wins Wimbledon.
The ATP's contentious decision to scrap rankings points at Wimbledon this year will rob Nick Kyrgios of a deserved return to the world's top 15.
The governing bodies of men's and women's tennis won't offer rankings points in response to the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the championships because of the war on Ukraine.
Kyrgios insists he's not bothered but the 27-year-old would nevertheless have been projected to rise to No.13 in the world if he won Wimbledon.
Coincidentally, that's exactly his career-high ranking, which he first achieved in late 2016.
Kyrgios would already have been assured of a rise from 40th to inside the top 20 after making the title match.
Instead, he is set to fall five spots to No.45 despite his career run on London's hallowed grass courts.
"I don't particularly play in tournaments for ranking points," Kyrgios said.
"As a kid, when I watched Wimbledon, when I wanted to play it, I wasn't thinking about ranking points. I was thinking about playing in the most prestigious tournament in the world. That's all I'm here for."
Kyrgios doubts he'll change his schedule merely because of his Wimbledon run, saying he will continue playing a limited program.
"I'm still travelling four or five months of the year. But I've sat down and I'm never going to travel more than that," he said.
"I just don't want to sacrifice family time or time at home. I don't want to be that person that's playing so much tennis during the year and not cherishing those times at home.
"After a result like this, win or lose, I want to have that crucial time at home to enjoy it with my loved ones.
"I've played this sport since I was seven years old. These are the times where I feel like you just want to sit and enjoy it. We made it this far.
"I'm not saying to get complacent or anything like that. I still have tournaments after this as well. The US swing, obviously.
"After that, I just want to have time where I can reflect and say it's been a good couple months, then recharge and then go again."
Tennis's most divisive figure also doubts if he'll ever shake his love-hate relationship with the sport.
"The thing about the tennis life, no matter how good a result is or how bad it is, you have another tournament the next week. Life just goes. It's like a spinning wheel so quickly," Kyrgios said.
"I don't like that. I really like to sit and reflect.
"I don't know if (my attitude) is going to change. There's definitely times where I hate this sport, but there are times where I think I'm one of the most competitive people I've ever met. I've met a lot of people. Whether it's playing my Nintendo, whether it's playing basketball, whether it's anything, I'm so competitive.
"So I feel like, yeah, I love tennis, but I just love competing. I just love going up against someone, and I love just the winning and losing aspect of sport in general.
"So I don't know if that will ever change.
"The one thing for sure, whether I win or lose on Sunday, I'm going to be happy.
"It's such a great achievement that I thought I'd never be a part of. Especially at 27, I feel this is, like, for me, I thought it was the later stages of my career.
"But I just never thought it would be right here. I have a chance."