Kyrgios AO wildcard dream is no sure thing

Nick Kyrgios may be dreaming of an Australian Open wild card after playing  the home Grand Slam only once over the past three editions.

But tournament boss Craig Tiley says “hold my beer” when it comes to another charity entry for the bad boy of the courts whose career has faded due to injuries and a distinct lack of matches and commitment.

The keen NBA fan competed in just four 2025 matches and earned his only win last Match in a Miami first round.  

He is due to front up for a “Battle of the Sexes” in late December against WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai while then hoping for free entry into the Melbourne major.

But while he has asked to be granted AO largesse next month, that scenario is far from a done deal.

“I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. But he’s playing, which is good, he’s been playing events leading in, and I know he wants to play in the summer,” tournament boss Tiley told The Tennis Podcast.

“So if he wants to play in the summer, it means he wants to play the Australian Open, but there’s still a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge. 

“I think he’s beyond the period of a protected ranking, so he’s going to need a wild card to play as far as I’m concerned.”

Kyrgios seems to be making a comeback of sorts with a series of hit-and-giggle events far from the competitive fires of the ATP.

He has played two American two exhibitions against Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton and is on the way to India for a World Tennis League exhibition.

While the Dubai outing with Sabalenka has been drawing fire from sceptics throughout the sport, the 30-year-old Kyrgios is spruiking the event for all he’s worth.

“Btw all the negative comments towards the Battle of the Sexes are doing nothing but giving it more attention.

“At the end of the day, Aryna will go down as one of the greatest players to play this game. I will have entertained crowds around the world. 

“We are two humans that are good friends and want to put on a show and get more eyes on tennis.

“Not all this other BS – does this not look like TENNIS is going in the right DIRECTION? Sit back and enjoy the show – we both love the challenge and are going into this with no real experience. No one cares what you have to say.”