The local crowd-pleaser was tipped to receive one of Tennis Australia’s three remaining wildcards. But he announced on social media on Friday that he would only play doubles with his great friend Thanasi Kokkinakis at Melbourne Park, with the tournament set to start on January 18.
Multiple wrist and knee surgeries have limited Kyrgios to just seven singles tour matches over the past three years, with his ranking plummeting to 670.
The 30-year-old’s most recent singles match lasted just 66 minutes – a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to American Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Brisbane International earlier this week.
Kyrgios, who reached the 2022 Wimbledon final, said his body was not yet ready for five-set tennis and wanted the wildcard to go to someone who could “make their moment count”.
“After some good conversations with TA, I have made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s AO,” he wrote in an Instagram story. “I’m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different animal and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet.
“This tournament means everything to me, but I would rather give my place to someone who is ready to make his moment count.
“It’s all building blocks, and I’ll be back next year and I’m excited to compete.”
Former champion Stan Wawrinka, 40 years old, seems almost certain to get one of the wildcards. Wawrinka had already announced that this year will be his final season on tour, giving fans in Melbourne the chance to say goodbye to the 2014 Australian Open winner.
Wawrinka showed he still has a lot of fight left in him with a gutsy three-set victory over world number 27 Arthur Rinderknech at the United Cup last weekend.
Jordan Thompson, whose injury-plagued 2025 campaign saw him drop to 113th in the world, and compatriot Chris O’Connell (114th) would also be deserving winners.
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