“Pretty sure Greg got done for performance-enhancing drugs once”: Nick Kyrgios fires back at Rusedski over Australian Open wildcard

Nick Kyrgios responded harshly to Greg Rusedski following criticism from the former British No. 1 regarding the Battle of the Sexes event and his claim that Kyrgios should not receive a wildcard for the upcoming Australian Open.

Rusedski said on a recent podcast that he would not give Kyrgios a wildcard if the decision were his. “He’d have to have some phenomenal results. A win in Brisbane. Go deep or get to quarters or semis in the build-up,” he said. “He brings people into stadiums, but he needs to show some form and from today’s performance [against Sabalenka], he doesn’t look ready to play best-of-five sets.”

Kyrgios recently arrived in Brisbane for his first tournament of the season, marking his return to competition after receiving a wildcard from the organisers. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up will begin his comeback in Brisbane, just as he did a year ago, when he lost in the first round of both singles and doubles — the latter alongside Novak Djokovic.

During the 2025 season, Kyrgios played only a handful of tournaments, with his last appearance coming at the Miami Open. He recorded just one victory — against Mackenzie McDonald in Miami — and played his final singles match in the second round, losing to Karen Khachanov.

Kyrgios spent much of the year working on his recovery from injury and was sidelined from competition for most of the season. He only briefly returned to action with a doubles appearance at the DC Open alongside Gaël Monfils, where they lost in the first round. His season then came to an end after suffering another injury that ruled him out of the North American hard-court swing.

The 30-year-old returned to the courts in several end-of-year exhibition matches, the most talked-about being the Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka, where he claimed a 6–3, 6–3 victory. The event became one of the biggest talking points in the tennis world during the off-season.

As the final Australian Open wildcards are still pending, Kyrgios remains one of the players who could potentially receive an invitation in Melbourne — something Rusedski believes would send the wrong message, arguing that it could instead go to a local player who has had fewer opportunities to compete at top-level tournaments such as a Grand Slam.

Kyrgios responded to Rusedski upon arriving in Brisbane while speaking to reporters: “Pretty sure Greg got done for performance enhancing drugs once in his career, so I wouldn’t take too much advice from someone like that,” he said. “I didn't even know the comments he made to be honest. I've just been enjoying time back home, enjoying all these amazing events, selling out stadiums around the world. If you let me know when Greg sold out a stadium last time he played, yeah, you let me know.”

Kyrgios returned to the Australian Open in 2025, losing in the first round to Jacob Fearnley in straight sets. In 10 appearances at the event, his best result came in 2015, when he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Andy Murray.

The former world No. 13 is also an Australian Open doubles champion, having won the title alongside his close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis in an unexpected run back in 2022. What began as an opportunity to enjoy himself on court and entertain the crowd ended with an improbable Grand Slam doubles title — and the start of a standout year for Kyrgios, who also reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon just months later.