Nick Kyrgios says he'll play only doubles at Australian Open

New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) Nick Kyrgios has said that he will not feature in the Australian Open singles draw and instead will focus on doubles, where he is expected to again pair up with Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“After some good conversations with TA, I’ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s AO. 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 shared in his Instagram story section on Friday.

“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," he added.

Nick played just five matches in 2025 before ending his season in March. He eased back into competition with a series of exhibition matches in New York and Dubai last month, then received a wildcard for the Brisbane International, where he lost 6-3, 6-4 to Aleksander Kovacevic in the first round on Tuesday.

Moreover, Kyrgios and his doubles partner, Thanasi Kokkinakis, were beaten by the French pair Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul on Wednesday in the second round in Brisbane.

Kyrgios has endured a series of serious injuries in recent years, which have seen his world ranking slide to 673 and leave him without a protected ranking. The former Wimbledon finalist has featured in just one Grand Slam match since 2022.

He lifted the men’s doubles title alongside fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open 2022 after defeating Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell in straight sets.

Since losing the 2022 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, he has undergone a wrist reconstruction and two knee surgeries. He played only six professional singles matches across the past three years and none since Miami in March last year.