Nick Kyrgios has admitted he is not ready to play singles at the Australian Open and will instead focus on playing doubles with partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The Australian announced on social media that he had “decided to focus on doubles” and was “not ready to go far” in singles.
Kyrgios, who was injured in a first-round loss at the Brisbane International earlier this week, has played just six official singles matches in the past three years. He was hoping for a late wildcard at Melbourne Park starting on January 18.
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Nick Kyrgios’ highlights against Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Brisbane International
The 30-year-old has suffered various injuries to his wrists and knees since reaching the 2022 Wimbledon final where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
“After a good conversation with (Tennis Australia), the AO took the call to focus on doubles this year,” he wrote.
“I’m back on the court healthy, but the five-year-olds are a different beast and they’re not ready to go the distance yet.
“This tournament means everything to me, but I want to give my spot to someone who is ready to make that moment count.
“These are all building blocks and we will come back and compete next year.”
His singles clash was his first since March, when he clashed with little-known American Aleksandar Kovacevic in Brisbane.
Kyrgios defeated world number one Arina Sabalenka in a controversial match in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in Dubai.
Kyrgios, ranked 670th, was a standout figure on last month’s exhibition tour, notably with a win over Aryna Sabalenka in their ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in Dubai, but failed to replicate that on home soil, losing 6-3 6-4.
He plans to play men’s doubles with Kokkinakis at the 2022 Australian Open.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, dubbed ‘Special K’, once again proved their partnership by winning their opening match at the Brisbane International this week.
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Kyrgios accidentally hit the ball kid with a forehand drive during his doubles return with Kokkinakis in Brisbane.
It was Kyrgios’ first ATP Tour match in 167 days and Kokkinakis’ first appearance since suffering a chest injury in January 2025.
The pair beat Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram 5-7 6-4 10-8 before losing to Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the second round.
“This is a stepping stone,” Kyrgios said. “I actually just spoke to Daniil Medvedev in the locker room, and he said, ‘Look, sometimes you take it one game at a time. It’s not always going to go your way.’”
“As long as I feel good and can build on that, that’s definitely my goal. I want to keep playing as much as I can, not only at the Australian Open but also this year, no matter what happens this year.”
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Thanasi Kokkinakis got emotional after returning to the doubles court with Kyrgios…
‘With women’s tennis becoming a hit, competition between men and women is meaningless.’
Gigi Salmon said ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was a “victory, victory” for Kyrgios.
Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon criticized the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in her column.It’s an opportunity for Kyrgios to stay “relevant,” he said.
She said: “For Kyrgios, with just five fights in 2025 out of the spotlight and just one competitive win since the end of 2022, it was easier to understand why he agreed – largely due to injuries and a ranking of 671 in the world – this was an opportunity to stay relevant.”
Salmon added: “The reason I said it was meaningless when you asked me what I thought was because I saw it as just a loss, a loss for Sabalenka, a match win, and you beat a world No. 671 who hasn’t played much recently and you celebrate the loss and say, ‘Oh, the women’s world No. 1 just lost to a world No. 671 who has only played five matches with one win in a year.’
“For Kyrgios it’s a win, a win, a loss and he said he didn’t intend to win. He barely played but he won. And look at me, I barely played but I beat the best female player in the world.”
“In the short term, when women’s tennis became a hit, it left all the ‘new’ fans wanting to get interested in the sport, wondering how someone who barely played all year could beat the best player in women’s tennis and beat it so convincingly, and what does that say about women’s tennis?
“I think people will be happy to move on. Women’s tennis under Sabalenka is in a good place right now, so people may question her motivations, but I don’t think any major damage has been done.”
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