"There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that he deserves it" - Kyrgios doubles-down on decision to skip Australian Open singles event while lauding worthy Wawrinka

It looked at one point a certainty that Nick Kyrgios would be making his return in the Australian Open singles event. However, this has not materialised with his sole focus coming in the doubles. It is a decision that he has stood by amid a return from injuries plaguing him these prior few years.

After looking to cement his position among the best following a Wimbledon final back up by a US Open quarter-final in 2022, the Aussie's career came tumbling down with numerous injury setbacks which kept him away from the court. This included wrist and knee problems which he has struggled to comeback from.

A few failed attempts at a return to the court last year brought up speculation about how long he has left in the tank. By the end of the year, he had finally managed to string a bunch of tournaments together, albeit exhibition clashes. He made his return to the ATP Tour in the Brisbane International, losing out Aleksandar Kovacevic in straight sets.

In the end, his quest for a wildcard at his home event was ruled out by himself, as he previously mentioned that he will only participate if he feels like he can compete. Obviously, Kyrgios does not feel like this is the case and he does not want to get in anyone's way of taking up one of the eight wildcard spots.

One of them is 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka, who is playing his final season on tour. He looked competitive in his matches for Switzerland in the United Cup as he helped them go for a run all the way to the final before losing out to Poland. "Someone like Stan, who's played three or four competitive matches in the United Cup, all at a super high level, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that he deserves it," Kyrgios said while competing at the Kooyong Tennis Classic.

"And it just wouldn't be fair of me to have so many doubts physically to go out there and play some of the best players in the world in the best-of-five and not even be sure that I could back up one round."

Speaking of, the Kooyong Classic is underway in Melbourne. The exhibition event is always a popular one for players to departure in with it good preparation for the upcoming Grand Slam event. Kyrgios is one of the players to make the venture to Melbourne and managed to get his second singles win since making his comeback at the end of 2025. Aside from a number of doubles triumphs, his sole win by himself was in the Battle of the Sexes against WTA world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Now, he has finally added to that with a 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 victory over Zhizhen Zhang in what was a very close matchup enjoyed by a jubilant and rowdy crowd. "The atmosphere out here was nuts ... and if I didn't have this I don't know what else I'd do," he said. "I've got a lot of other things going on off the court but there's no feeling like this."

Kyrgios will be staying in Melbourne for the foreseeable future with him set to take part in the men's doubles at Australian Open, partnering up with Thanasi Kokkinakis. Both players have been ravaged by injuries and painful situations, but they will return to see if they can replicate their famous title heroics in 2022.