Australian Open chief Craig Tiley says he expects to see home favourite Nick Kyrgios make his long-awaited return to Melbourne park for the season-opening Grand Slam in January, Afrosport reports.
The 29-year-old has played just one tour singles match since October, 2022, and has been out for two years battling with knee, foot and wrist injuries.
Kyrgios last competed in at the men’s singles at the Australian Open in 2022, losing in four sets to Daniel Medvedev in the second round.
The talented Aussie later advanced to the Wimbledon final and the U.S. Open quarterfinals before his injuries woes.
Tiley, however, stated that the former Wimbledon finalist is aiming to be back for the January 12-26 tournament.
“We would love to have Nick back playing in 2025, we believe he will be,” he told Channel Nine TV.
“He’s out there practicing, playing, been in touch with his team over the last couple days, and he’s fully expecting to play, and we expect to see Nick on the court playing.
“The confidence that we get about Nick playing is that in his preparation, we know he’s doing more than he’s done before.
“We know that he wants to do it. We know that he’s mentally preparing to get ready to play in January. He’s got to be physically healthy to do that.
“No player wants to walk onto the court unless they know they can be in a position where they can win and and Nick knows, as a team with Tennis Australia, we’d love to see him on the court.
“So we fully expect to see him.”
Kyrgios has been involved in television and broadcasting work during his long absence and recent messages posted on social media suggested that he will be soon resume his playing career towards the end of the year.
The Australian tennis player who lost four sets to Novak Djokovic in his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2022, peaked a career-high 13 in the world in 2016.
