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Nick Kyrgios has been granted a wildcard entry place at the Brisbane International next month.His last match came in a second-round Miami Open defeat to Karen Khachanov in March, with fitness problems restricting him to only five singles matches this year.Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios is now aiming to consign a frustrating 2025 to the past, with his immediate focus on a Battle of the Sexes exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka next Sunday.Kyrgios will also take part in the Kooyong Classic warm-up exhibition event in Melbourne next month, ahead of possibly competing at the Australian Open, which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
His lowly ranking of 673 means that Kyrgios will need a wildcard to take part in the first Grand Slam of 2026.
The 30-year-old’s only Grand Slam match since 2022 came in this year’s Australian Open, when he was beaten by Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.
Despite a hugely frustrating year, Kyrgios is confident that the tide is turning and previously spoke about his “new lease of life” after achieving a breakthrough in his recovery from a knee injury.”In the last month, I don’t know what it is. I was with my masseuse and physio last night and something really has changed with my knee,” he told Australian Associated Press in November.
“It’s not swelling. It’s not feeling bad after a session. I don’t know whether to call it a miracle or anything, but my knee feels like it’s gotten younger by a couple of years.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but something in it has gone, kind of allowed me to put three, four days of training together on court for an hour-and-a-half, two hours and be able to actually recover and then build on that,” said Kyrgios.
“So that’s been really exciting and I haven’t really told anyone. I have a new lease on life on court.”
It is a remarkable shift in narrative after Kyrgios doubted the chances of playing in another singles match at the Australian Open after his first-round defeat to Fearnley last January.
‘This is the escape’ – Kyrgios discusses his love for gaming
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Kyrgios has been increasingly upbeat in recent interviews and also spoke about “embracing” his personality at the Esports World Cup event in July.
He said: “I think my passion was basketball and gaming, and I was thrown into a sport where tennis is very clean cut.
“I’m very rough around the edges, and I didn’t really fit the mould for a tennis player.
“I really struggled with that early in my career. Now I’m embracing it, and I’m glad I’m able to put on a show.”
He also spoke in more detail about how his love of gaming affected his tennis career, and “throwing F-bombs” at the Royal Box at Wimbledon.
He continued: “When I played in front of the Royal Box at Wimbledon, I was throwing F-bombs. It’s been a struggle to kind of fit in, but now I kind of embrace it.
“I’m not going to change for anyone. I’ve been criticised in my career for not putting enough time on the court, and I’ve missed tournaments and training because I’ve just been gaming, purely because I love it.
“When I played those nine-hour gaming sessions when we were younger, I guess my mum didn’t think this was possible [playing Esports competitively].”
The 2026 Australian Open begins in Melbourne on January 18, and concludes on February 1.
Watch and stream top tennis action, including the 2026 Australian Open, live on TNT Sports and discovery+