With the Australian Open fast approaching, Nick Kyrgios remains unsure if he will be starting his campaign in the main draw or in the qualifying event.
The former Wimbledon finalist is still waiting for a decision from Tennis Australia about who will receive the final wildcard for the first Grand Slam of 2026. Over the past two years, Kyrgios has been sidelined from the Tour for months due to injury and has only played six matches since the start of 2023.
Kyrgios will start his latest comeback at the Brisbane International, where he is also playing in the doubles draw alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. Ahead of the tournament, he told reporters his knee ‘feels ok’ and he is ‘doing literally everything he can’ to get it in the best possible shape.
“I feel like I’m playing better than I was this time last year. I’m in much better shape, I’ve lost a bit of weight and I’m feeling a lot better,” said Kyrgios.
“But again, match play, comparatively – I don’t have magic powers, I haven’t played a lot of events, I’m not going to say I’m going to come out and win the tournament like I did in 2018.”
Brisbane doesn’t just give Kyrgios the opportunity to get some match play under his belt after playing a couple of exhibition events with the most recent being against Aryna Sabalkenka in Dubai. It also gives him a platform to prove he is worthy of having a place at the Australian Open. His best result at the event was in 2015 when he reached the quarter-finals.
“I just want to get through this and be happy with my performance,” he said.
“Ultimately I just want to go out there and put on a show for the crowd and for the fans and the people, to be honest. I have no agenda – I don’t care what my ranking is, don’t care what titles I win. I just want to go out there and give the people a good show.”
However, the 30-year-old admitted that the wildcard should go to another player if he is unable to play at a good level. His Grand Slam debut at the 2013 French Open came at the Courtesy of John Milman who transferred his wildcard to Kyrgios when injured.
“If I’m feeling great and I get through this week and I fecel I can perform at the Australian Open and really enjoy it and give the people … they are paying good money to be there,” he said.
“If I’m not able to give them the ‘Kyrgios Experience’, then I would genuinely rather give it to someone that earned the wildcard and really is in tip-top shape to start off something special in their career.”
Kyrgios says he is willing to play in the qualifying event if required to do so. Something he hasn’t done at a major event since the 2013 US Open.
