Nick Kyrgios appears set for little more than a peripheral role during Australia’s summer of tennis after a brisk, anticlimactic and – for fans of the 30-year-old – worrying defeat at the Brisbane International in his first competitive singles outing in almost 10 months.
The Canberran, who is recovering from knee and wrist surgeries and played only five times on the ATP Tour in 2025, offered little resistance against American Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round at the Pat Rafter Arena on Tuesday. The 27-year-old American, ranked 58 in the world, breezed past the Australian 6-3 6-4 in just 66 minutes, without giving up a break point opportunity.
The match disappointed the capacity crowd in Pat Rafter Arena, who had hoped a first singles ATP Tour match since March for the sport’s self-styled maverick would springboard Kyrgios back to relevance, after a promising doubles performance on Sunday. Instead, it vindicated the ongoing reluctance of Australian Open officials to hand the former world No 13 a precious place at the Melbourne Park grand slam starting on 18 January.
Kyrgios’ preparation for the summer has been limited to a series of exhibitions, including the Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka, and the doubles match in Brisbane alongside friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. But his lack of competitiveness on Tuesday appeared to surprise even Kovacevic, the University of Illinois graduate with a powerful all-round game.
“To be honest, I was expecting a little more than that in terms of adversity today,” he told the on-court announcer after the match. “[It was] tough to scout him recently because he hasn’t been on tour for a while playing serious matches, so I didn’t really know what to expect.”
Kyrgios was broken twice by Kovacevic, and the Australian struggled with his mobility and return, winning just a single point on his opponent’s first serve. He is now far from the athlete he was at his peak, and the seven-time tour winner wore an ankle brace, a taped wrist and a plaster on his face. After serving midway through the first set, he winced and looked skywards twice, as he clutched at his right elbow in obvious physical discomfort.
The Battle of the Sexes winner was only playing singles in Brisbane thanks to a wildcard. However, Australian Open organisers have resisted giving Kyrgios the equivalent invitation for the main draw at Melbourne Park, even as lower-profile countrymen such as Rinky Hijikata and James Duckworth have been afforded places.
With just three wildcards still available for the men’s singles, there is concern over whether Kyrgios’ conditioning warrants an entry, given he has done little to show he is ready for best-of-five tennis. In 2025 he was eliminated in the first round in three sets against Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, and said afterwards: “Realistically, I probably can’t see myself playing a singles match here again.” Kyrgios still has at least one doubles match in Brisbane, as well as a scheduled appearance at Kooyong next week, to convince tournament organisers that that line was premature.
But the situation also presents an unusual opportunity for Tennis Australia. The organisation has been looking to maximise the appeal of “Opening Week” in recent years, which usually features exhibitions, concerts and three rounds of qualifying featuring mainly tour battlers and local prospects. This year sees the introduction of the latest innovation: the One Point Slam, offering $1m to amateurs, celebrities and tour professionals in a knockout where each round is decided by a single back-and-forth.
Kyrgios has already committed to being part of that novelty, but he told journalists this week he would also be prepared to enter Australian Open qualifying if a main draw wildcard was not forthcoming.
Three classic Kyrgios matches in that first week – even if they were in qualifying rounds – might instantly do what officials have been trying to for years, and transform two weeks of elite tennis at Melbourne Park into a three-week smorgasbord of sport-slash-entertainment. That may be – for a man who is more profile than play – a fitting legacy.
