Nick Kyrgios and Adrian Portelli have united forces to grant the wish of a young boy fighting an incurable disease.
The young boy named Harrison has been suffering from a rare form of scleroderma called disabling pansclerotic morphea since he was three years old.
Scleroderma is a rare auto-immune condition that floods the body with too much collagen and leads to hardened skin, tightened connective tissues and constant pain.
In a heartwarming Instagram video, influencer Samuel Weidenhofer surprised Harrison with the chance to take $500 or win a mystery tennis ball.
‘I’ll take the ball because I just like tennis,’ Harrison said before revealing Nick was his favourite player.
‘He is one of the greatest of all time,’ the young boy added.
Samuel then revealed the mystery prize was a trip to Sydney on Adrian’s private jet to meet Nick.
The following day, Harrison alongside his mother flew to Sydney and met Nick who gifted him a signed tennis racquet and a $5000 cheque.
‘Thank you to everyone for making this bucket list come true. It was the best day of my life,’ Harrison said.
It comes after Nick recently put months of speculation to rest by confirming he will play in the Australian Open next year.
He dropped the bombshell news as he spoke at SXSW Sydney last month, where he also revealed new details about the severity of the injuries that have kept him almost completely out of competitive tennis for the last two years.
‘The injury I had was brutal,’ he told the crowd.
‘The surgeon said I probably wouldn’t be able to play again. But I said whatever, just try and get me another two to three years of my career.
‘Everything has gone semi-well and I will be playing the Australian Open this summer.
‘It’s been a brutal couple of years but just being out there to play in front of a home crowd … I just want to be out there, lighting up the crowd and playing in front of my own country.
‘Whether it is good or bad, it will certainly be a lot of fun, for sure. I’m looking forward to it.
‘My only motivation to come back and play is to try and win a grand slam, and I’ll give it one more shot.’
Knee and wrist injuries have kept the former Wimbledon finalist sidelined since just before the 2022 Australian Open, leading many to wonder if he would ever return to the court.
