Nick Kyrgios confirmed he has made the selfless call to opt out of receiving wildcard entry into this year’s Australian Open singles draw, instead deciding to “focus on doubles”.
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Kyrgios revealed on his Instagram story on Friday that he had made the decision “after some good conversations” with Tennis Australia.
“I’m fit and back on court, but 5-setters are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet,” Kyrgios wrote.
“This tournament means everything to me but I’d rather give my spot to someone who’s ready to make their moment count. It’s all building blocks and I’ll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there.”
Australian Open organisers had just three men’s singles wildcards remaining at the time of Kyrgios’ announcement, but that was later reduced to one with Australian duo Chris O’Connell and Jordan Thompson also securing a spot at Melbourne Park.
Retiring veteran Stan Wawrinka received the final wildcard.
News.com.au reported that Kyrgios was informed by Australian Open tournament boss Craig Tilley before his loss in Brisbane that he was set to receive a wildcard.
Kyrgios played in his first singles tour match since March earlier in the week and was outclassed 6-3 6-4 in 66 minutes by American Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Brisbane International.
Speaking ahead of that match, an honest Kyrgios told reporters that at this point of his career his primary goal is to just enjoy himself on tour.
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“I don’t know if I’m a player that needs to prove himself any more than he has. I just want to get through this and be happy with my performance,” he said.
“Ultimately I just want to go out there and put on a show for the crowd and for the fans and the people, to be honest.
“I have no agenda and I don’t care what my ranking is, don’t care what titles I win. I just want to go out there and give the people a good show.
“That’s ultimately I guess what I’ll go down as, as an entertainer and someone who just was a bit of a chaotic mess, but an entertainer at the end of the day.”
Kyrgios will be able to do plenty of entertaining in the doubles tournament, where he will team up with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The pair lost their Brisbane International match against No.6 seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, but will be hoping to regain their form and go on a magical run like the one that saw them win the Australian Open doubles title in 2022.
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