Nick Kyrgios’ return to singles action in 2026 did not go the way he would have hoped.
In his first singles match since March 2025, Kyrgios lost to Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Brisbane International.
The Australian star has suffered multiple injury setbacks in the last year, having played sporadically at tour-level events.
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Following his early exit in Brisbane, Kyrgios ruled himself out of the singles tournament at the Australian Open, announcing that he wants to focus solely on doubles.
His doubles partner, Thanasi Kokkinakis, gave an insight into the former Wimbledon finalists’ current physical state and predicted whether he will play singles again in 2026.
Thanasi Kokkinakis speaks about Nick Kyrgios’ physical state
When asked in his pre-tournament press conference at the Adelaide International if he thinks Kyrgios will play singles this year, Kokkinakis said: “Yeah, I think he wants to.
“I think he probably felt like he wasn’t quite ready yet in Brisbane after playing his singles.
“Obviously, he’s played a couple [of] exhibition events. I don’t think there’s anything too physically wrong with him right now. It’s just getting that match practice.
“He’s played the exhibitions, but you can’t compare it to playing those competitive matches.
“I think he does want to get out there, and I know he’s trying, but I think, yeah, he didn’t think he was ready for five sets of tennis, which is a different beast.
“To beat these guys and to be able to back up and not just play one match and pull out is, it’s really tough. I think it’s one of the toughest things in sports, Grand Slam tennis.
“So I think he thought he wasn’t quite ready, and, yeah, I think he’ll try and play a bit more singles kind of this year.”
Nick Kyrgios doubles results so far in 2026
Kyrgios has yet to win a match in singles this year, but he opened his 2026 account in doubles alongside Kokkinakis at the Brisbane International.
The two countrymen, who won the 2022 Australian Open together, emerged victorious in their opening match against Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram.
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Their run came to an end in the round of 16, though, when Kyrgios and Kokkinakis lost to the duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
The Australians exited the first Grand Slam of the year in 2025 after Kokkinakis was forced to retire due to injury.
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