Nick Kyrgios has welcomed the addition of the United Cup as "special" for tennis amid hopes the Wimbledon finalist will pair up with old flame Ajla Tomljanovic in Sydney.
Australia will play pool matches against Great Britain and Spain at Ken Rosewall Arena on December 29-30 and January 2-3 as the best-of-five-rubber teams' event marks the long-awaited return of mixed doubles at a regular tour stop.
The mixed match will be the last rubber of ties, raising the mouth-watering prospect that Kyrgios and former long-time girlfriend Tomljanovic could reunite on court for Australia.
"I don't play so much mixed doubles anymore but what I love about mixed doubles is, it's for the fans.That's the most important thing," Kyrgios said on Sunday.
"Seeing some of the best females in the world playing with the best males, it definitely provides some really good entertainment, how the male kind of lets the female do her thing on the court and not get in the way.
"That's fun to watch."
Kyrgios and three-time grand slam quarter-finalist Tomljanovic, Australia's respective men's and women's No.1s, will be joined by Alex de Minaur, Jason Kubler, Maddison Inglis, Zoe Hives and doubles aces John Peers and Australia's playing co-captain Samantha Stosur.
"It's just a great event to have, an event where females and males come together as one to represent their nation," Kyrgios said.
"That's extremely important. And for the fans. To have all the best athletes from around the world together, I think it's a very special event.
"We don't have very many events during the year where both males and females are in the same spot playing the one event together competing for prize money, a top title and representing your country all in one."
Kyrgios taking on 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal in a genuine blockbuster looms as one of the highlights of the 11-day United Cup, which also includes group matches in Brisbane and Perth before the quarter-finals onwards are staged in Sydney.
"To be honest, I haven't really played well in Sydney but I'm hoping to change that narrative at the start of the year," Kyrgios said.
"Just playing in Australia is special. The tour is a long grind and it's rarely in Australia so I'm definitely not going to take it for granted."
Having sat out Davis Cup for the past three years, as well as the Tokyo Olympics, Kyrgios is representing Australia for the first time since the now-defunct ATP Cup in 2020.
