"There is still a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge..." - Kyrgios participation in Australian Open under threat as Tennis Australia CEO yet to confirm wildcard

Nick Kyrgios' involvement in the Australian Open still remains up in the air with Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley not confirming his participation in the major event, commencing from January 18 - February 1.

The Aussie has been a staple at the event in the past, carrying Australia's hopes on his shoulders as he targeted glory. His best result came back in 2015 when he made it all the way to the quarter-finals, eventually losing out to Andy Murray in straight sets.

However, in recent times his appearances in Melbourne have been sparse. Consistent troubles with injury saw him miss out on countless tennis tournaments through 2023 and 2024. He was flying high after reaching the Wimbledon final and backing that up with a US Open quarter-final in 2022, looking like he was achieving the potential touted from a young age. Injuries to his wrist and knee have seen him sidelined for the majority of the last three years. An attempted return to action in 2025 saw him feature in the Australian Open. It was a short-lived return, losing in the opening round of the singles to Jacob Fearnley ahead of retiring in his opening match alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis in the doubles. The duo was hoping for a repeat of their 2022 triumph in front of a home crowd but would get no luck this time.

Kyrgios would plough on for a few tournaments but would inevitably be sidelined again, with an attempted comeback at the DC Open a huge failure.

With Kyrgios getting a few exhibitions under his belt, it looks like he is attempting a highly anticipated return to the ATP Tour, which would definitely include the Australian Open. However, it may not be as easy as turning up and competing. Due to being ranked 672 in the world, the 30-year-old will not qualify automatically with his hopes lying in the form of a wildcard. While this was taken for granted by many fans, it may not be as easy as that for Kyrgios according to Tiley.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see," he commented on The Tennis podcast. "He's been playing in events leading in, and I know he wants to play in the summer, so if he wants to play in the summer that means he'll want to play at the Australian Open. But there is still a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge... I think he's beyond the period of a protected ranking, so he's going to need a wildcard to play, as far as I'm concerned."

It would be a seismic blow for the former world number 13, whose only route into the Grand Slam may be through the arduous qualifying process. Three wins may be in his way of featuring in the event for the 11th time.

The spotlight has once again been shone on Kyrgios as he looks to get back to match sharpness. He travelled over to the USA to feature in a brace of exhibition events. The first one came in the Atlanta Cup where he marked his comeback with a straight-set defeat to Ben Shelton. The next day, he was back on the court at the Garden Cup in New York. Another defeat would follow, this time to a different American in the form of Tommy Paul.

His next scheduled competition will be in India at the World Tennis League from December 17-20. Following that is the controversial Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka on December 28. The event has taken a lot of slack since it was confirmed, with Kyrgios determined to come out on top the world number one.