1 week ago
3
One-time Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will almost certainly require a wildcard to contest next month’s Australian Open, placing an even tighter squeeze on spots for local players.
Kyrgios played only six singles matches across the past three years because of serious wrist and knee injuries, but has committed to the Kooyong Classic, which will run in the week before the Open after a one-year hiatus.
Nick Kyrgios.Credit: Getty Images
The 30-year-old former world No.13, now ranked No.668, also hopes to play in Brisbane to start the Australian summer after participating in exhibition events, including a “Battle of the Sexes” clash with Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai on December 28.
Kyrgios used a protected ranking to compete at the 2025 Australian Open, but tournament boss Craig Tiley said he was operating on the assumption that Kyrgios needed a wildcard this time.
“We have been in touch around what he’s [Kyrgios] doing in the summer, and he’s obviously got some plans to play, but it’s going to depend on where his health is,” Tiley said.
“He’s indicated there are a few places that he wants to play, so we haven’t finalised those yet, but we’ll welcome Nick back any time he wants to come back and play because he draws a great crowd and there’s a great deal of interest in what he’s going to do.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley at Melbourne Park on Tuesday with Jo Horgan, of event partner MECCA.
“If he wants to play the Australian Open, he will need a wildcard.”
This masthead contacted the ATP and International Tennis Integrity Agency to inquire about Kyrgios’ status.
Australia may have only five direct acceptances in the men’s draw – Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton, Aleks Vukic and Tristan Schoolkate – which would be half the number of the 2025 tournament.
Loading
The official entry list is not out yet, so even Schoolkate, who was the world No.100 at the new cut-off time last month, may need some withdrawals, depending on how many players use protected rankings to enter.
Jordan Thompson, Chris O’Connell, Rinky Hijikata, James Duckworth and Thanasi Kokkinakis were all top-100 players and direct entrants at this time last year. Australia’s sole new top-100 men’s player since then is 24-year-old Schoolkate.
The ATP changed the cut-off date for Australian Open entry from the usual six weeks before to the rankings immediately after the ATP Finals, which is why Duckworth required a wildcard.
Tour veteran Duckworth has rallied to again reclaim a double-digit ranking, but was No.106 at the cut-off date. He received a wildcard as the best-performing men’s player in the Australian Pro Tour’s wildcard points race.
Kokkinakis had pectoral reattachment surgery in February, and has not played since his five-set loss to British star Jack Draper at this year’s Australian Open, while Thompson dealt with myriad injuries throughout the season.
The Kokkinakis camp has not confirmed when he plans to return, but a tournament source told this masthead the expectation was the big-serving South Australian would miss this summer.
Thompson, 31, retired mid-match at his past two events in October and his ranking has plummeted 82 spots from a career-best No.26 in November last year.
Tiley and his team typically hand out five main-draw singles wildcards each to Australian men and women, with Duckworth securing the first of them.
Assuming another goes to Kyrgios, the other three will probably go to Thompson (world No.108), Hijikata (114) and O’Connell (115), meaning 33-year-old Bernard Tomic (186) will have to qualify to contest the main draw for the first time in five years.
The sole Australian man younger than 24 in the world’s top 200 is 191st-ranked James McCabe, 22. The only male compatriot younger than McCabe in the top 500 is 21-year-old Edward Winter, the world No.481.
Cruz Hewitt, who turns 17 this month, appears to be the country’s best men’s prospect, but his junior career pales in comparison to the likes of de Minaur, Popyrin, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, so it is still unclear whether he has the upside to be a prominent player in the future.
“If you look at the players who are just outside the top 100, we’ve got lots just outside, so it goes back and forth ranked between 80 and 130, and I think that we have more than any other nation in that group,” Tiley said.
“Players are peaking between 25 and 30 now, so that’s generally the way we’re looking at it, but the team is working tirelessly on the regeneration of the younger players. It’s not one of those things you can click your finger and expect an outcome. It takes 12 years minimum.
Loading
“There’s a really good group of younger boys and younger girls who are coming through. It’s going to take some time, but we’re still ranked No.2 per capita, as far as number of players in the top 100, both men and women.”
The first women’s wildcard went to 17-year-old rising star Emerson Jones. Priscilla Hon, Talia Gibson, Maddison Inglis, Taylah Preston and Olivia Gadecki are the likeliest contenders for the other four.
Daria Saville is pregnant and will miss the 2026 Open, but said on Tuesday she would return to the tour.
Most Viewed in Sport
Loading
