Nick Kyrgios’s surgically-repaired knee and wrist will not prevent him from taking part at Melbourne Park, where Australian Open qualifying begins next week, but he will not feature in the singles draw.
The 30-year-old posted on social media saying he wasn’t ready for best-of-five set tennis, ruling himself out of contention for a wildcard, but he would still take to the court alongside friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“After some good conversations with [Tennis Australia], I’ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s [Australian Open],” he said. “I’m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet.”
Kyrgios’s first singles ATP Tour match in almost 10 months ended in a quick defeat on Tuesday at the Brisbane International, where he lost in 66 minutes to world No 58 Aleksandar Kovacevic.
He appeared in discomfort, clutching at his arm midway through the first set, and wearing strapping on his right wrist and a brace on his left ankle.
Kyrgios added strapping on his right elbow and right knee for his doubles match on Wednesday, which he and Kokkinakis lost in a tie-break.
However, the controversial figure will still be prominent in Melbourne in coming weeks. He has indicated he wants to play in the One Point Slam promotion, and has previously committed to the Kooyong Classic, which gets under way on Tuesday.
“This tournament means everything to me but I’d rather give my spot to someone who’s ready to make their moment count,” Kyrgios said. “It’s all building blocks and I’ll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there.”
Kyrgios would have required a wildcard from tournament organisers, or to progress through qualifying, to compete in the men’s singles main draw. The men’s doubles begins at Melbourne Park on Monday, 19 January, the day after the start of singles.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka was awarded one of the wildcards on Friday, along with Australian duo Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell.
