Nick Kyrgios could land new Australian Open role if star skips home Grand Slam
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has teased that Nick Kyrgios will be at the tournament come January, even if he doesn’t compete. The 28-year-old has played just one match all year as he continues to battle a knee injury and he may not be fit in time for his home Grand Slam. Kyrgios has turned to commentary during his layoff and the Australian could land another new role in Melbourne if he can’t return to the court.
Kyrgios’ 2023 season has been virtually non-existent and started on a low when he was forced to pull out of the Australian Open to undergo knee surgery. He returned in Stuttgart but lost his opening match, travelling to Wimbledon before withdrawing on the eve of the tournament.
The former world No 13 hasn’t played a match since and recently raised questions over whether he would be ready for the Australian Open at the beginning of 2024. But the tournament director has now confirmed that Kyrgios will be back one way or another.
“As I’ve said, we’re going to have Nick here in some form or another in January … hopefully it is to play because he’s a crowd-pleaser,” Tiley said at a Tennis Australia preview on Monday, admitting it was a “day-by-day” process with Kyrgios.
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“We love watching Nick and we love having him around. It’s hard for me to predict (if he’ll play)… but it’s always likely someone is going to be ready to play because they want to play at the Australian Open.”
Even if Kyrgios is unable to compete, he has already been trying his hand at a new role in tennis. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up joined Tennis Channel’s commentary team for the recent ATP Finals, offering his insight in the studio.
Kyrgios also tried his hand at coaching earlier this year. When he was forced to pull out of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown event in Los Angeles he still turned up to mentor Frances Tiafoe from the sidelines.
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A champion in the men’s doubles event at the 2022 Australian Open, Kyrgios recently raised concern when he admitted that he faced some setbacks with his ongoing knee injury even though his operation was almost a year ago. “There’s still a lot of work to do,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“I had some more setbacks after my knee coming back the first time. It was just not where I wanted to be and it was still causing me a lot of pain. I’ve been around the world with my rehab, seen some people that I hadn’t seen previously for my knee and getting different opinions.”
It remains to be seen whether Kyrgios can return to his home Grand Slam as a player. But there are still plenty of opportunities for the seven-time ATP title winner to enjoy the Australian Open in a different capacity, whether it be as a commentator, a coach or in another new role.
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