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Nick Kyrgios admits he is not ready to play singles at the Australian Open and will instead focus on the doubles event alongside partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The Australian announced on social media that he had “called for a focus on doubles” and was “not quite ready to go the distance” in singles.
Injury-plagued Kyrgios, who lost the first round of the Brisbane International earlier this week, has played just six official singles matches in the last three years. He was hoping for a late wildcard at Melbourne Park, which begins on January 18.
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Highlights of Nick Kyrgios vs Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Brisbane International
The 30-year-old has suffered various wrist and knee injuries since 2022, when he reached the final at Wimbledon and lost to Novak Djokovic.
“After some good conversations with (Tennis Australia), I have decided to focus on doubles at this year’s AO,” he wrote.
“I’m fit and back on the court, but five sets are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet.
“This tournament means everything to me, but I’d rather give my spot to someone who is willing to make their moment count.
“These are all building blocks and I will be back next year and motivated to compete.”
His singles clash with little-known American Aleksandar Kovacevic in Brisbane was his first since March.
Kyrgios defeated world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in their controversial ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match in Dubai.
Kyrgios, ranked 670th, has been a prominent figure on the exhibition circuit over the past month, notably with his victory over Aryna Sabalenka in their ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in Dubai, but he could not replicate that at home, losing 6-3 6-4.
He plans to play men’s doubles alongside Kokkinakis at the Australian Open, where they won the title in 2022.
Nicknamed the ‘Special Ks’, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis resumed their partnership by winning their opening match at the Brisbane International this week.
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Kyrgios accidentally hit a ball kid with a forehand during his doubles return with Kokkinakis in Brisbane.
It was the first ATP Tour match in 167 days for Kyrgios, while Kokkinakis was playing for the first time since suffering a pectoral injury in January 2025.
The pair beat Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram 5-7 6-4 10-8 before losing in the second round to Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
“It’s a stepping stone,” Kyrgios said. “Actually, I just spoke to Daniil Medvedev in the locker room, and he said to me: ‘Look, you play a match every now and then, it’s not going to go the way you want it to go all the time.’
“As long as I feel good and I can try to use that as a building block, that’s obviously my goal, and not just at the Australian Open, but this year, no matter what this year brings, I want to continue to play as much as I can.”
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Thanasi Kokkinakis became emotional after a winning comeback on the doubles court with Kyrgios…
“The battle of the sexes was pointless while women’s tennis took a hit”
Gigi Salmon said ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was ‘win, win’ for Kyrgios
Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon slammed ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in her columnsaying it was a chance for Kyrgios to stay “relevant”.
She said: “For Kyrgios it was easier to understand why he would accept, away from the spotlight and with just five matches under his belt in 2025, with just one competitive win since the end of 2022, largely due to injury and sitting at 671st in the world, it was a chance to stay relevant.”
Salmon added: “The reason I called it useless when asked for my opinion on it was because I saw it as a simple loss, a loss for Sabalenka, a match win and congratulations, you beat the world number 671, who has barely played lately, lose and ‘oh my God, the women’s world number 1 just lost to the world number 671, who has only played five matches with a victory all the year.”
“For Kyrgios it’s win, win – lose and he says he wasn’t supposed to win, he barely played, win he did and look at me, I barely played and yet I beat the best player in the world.
“Whereas in the short term, women’s tennis took a hit, with all these ‘new’ fans they wanted to bring to tennis, wondering how someone who has hardly played all year can convincingly beat and beat the best player in women’s tennis and what does that say about women’s football?
“I think people will move on and be happy to do so. Women’s tennis, rightly led by Sabalenka, is in a great place at the moment, so while people may question her motives, I don’t believe any major damage has been done.”
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