Australian Open officials fully expect Nick Kyrgios to be on court in January

While Nick Kyrgios has been busy commentating and promoting his new beer, he’s also been getting ready for a comeback to the tennis court.

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley expects polarising star Nick Kyrgios to make a grand slam comeback in January after doing “more than he’s done before” to overcome his injury problems.

But Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt said Kyrgios, who has only played a single competitive match in the last two years due to ongoing knee and wrist injuries, faced the “biggest challenge he’s ever faced” to return to his best.

Kyrgios, the former world No.13, has missed consecutive Australian Opens due to his myriad injuries and the 29-year-old was a surprise inclusion in promotional material at the official launch of the Australian Open on Thursday, with Tiley telling reporters he was confident of a Kyrgios comeback.

The tournament director was unsure whether Kyrgios would seek entry with a protected ranking but said he would otherwise be given a wildcard into the main draw.

“We would love to have Nick back playing in 2025. We believe he will be – he’s out there practising and playing,” Tiley said.

“I’ve been in touch with his team in the last couple of days, and he’s fully expecting to play. We expect to see Nick on the court, playing.

Nick Kyrgios interviewed but didn’t play against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Picture: Mark Stewart

“The confidence that we get about Nick playing is we know he’s doing more than he’s done before, we know that he wants to do it.”

Retired star Hewitt said Kyrgios was facing a massive challenge to get back to his blistering best after almost two full years out of the game.

“He’s still got to get over the niggles obviously, and even when you start to up your practice, you’ve (got to) be able to push through those setbacks as well,” Hewitt said.

“That’s how it’s going to be for the couple of months leading in … he’s going to have to try and play as many practice sets (as possible) because going into a grand slam best-of-five sets and not hoping just to go through one round either.

“Wimbledon, I saw Nick hitting with a lot of the guys over there, and the US Open he was hitting on an indoor court next to Thanasi and myself one day, so he’s certainly doing a lot more stuff … it’s just whether the body can hold up.

“It’s probably the biggest challenge he’s ever faced. The game keeps improving, the guys keep taking it to new levels as well, and for him to come in and try to play, there’s going to be a lot of guys who are able to push him.”

Nick Kyrgios has bought into a beer brand.

With the extra day’s play introduced in 2024 to be retained for next year’s tournament, Tiley suggested there would be no fresh changes aimed at tackling the late-night finishes that have plagued all four grand slams.

“One thing you cannot do is predict how matches go … making sure your turnarounds are fast enough, and doing everything you can to shorten the time,” he said.

“You do the best you possibly can, but the one thing you cannot control is the length of that battle.”

Tournament organisers said the Melbourne Park precinct would have double the amount of shade at January’s tournament, with upgrades to 1573 Arena providing four times the shade previously on offer for fans.