Nick Kyrgios. The 29-year-old’s meteoric rise in 2022, highlighted by his Wimbledon final run and Washington triumphs, has been abruptly halted by a series of debilitating injuries. Since the US Open that year, Kyrgios has undergone three surgeries, leaving him with as many surgeries as singles matches played. After a period of uncertainty surrounding his future in the sport, Kyrgios is now aiming for a return to the court in time for the 2025 Australian Open. A day earlier, the Brisbane International tournaments announced Kyrgios’ partnership with Novak Djokovic. “Doubles at Brisbane. See y’all there”! wrote Kyrgios on his social media. In the wake of which the former pro Guido Monaco has interpreted this partnership as tacit support from Djokovic for “problematic guy”‘s comments on the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. 

Kyrgios has been vocal about Jannik Sinner’s recent doping allegations, but insists these controversies won’t affect his own performance should they face each other at the Australian Open. “Let’s be honest, I just want to go out there and I really want to play Sinner. I’m waiting for it, man,” he told the Nothing Major Podcast last week. “I’ve thought about this — if I played him in the Australian Open — I would just get every single person in the crowd to get on him. I would just turn it into an absolute riot. All respect would go out the window and I would just do anything to win.” Much like the Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who called these comments as “not necessary”, the Italian ex-pro has a say in it. But with a Djokovic reference!

As We Love Tennis reported on December 21st, Monaco said, “We have to ignore what Kyrgios says. His statements were heard by Djokovic who, by deciding to have this relationship with him by playing doubles with him, corroborates Kyrgios’ point of view on Sinner: it’s like saying that he validates what Kyrgios thinks.” Does he? 

“This relationship that he continues to maintain after the statements of Kyrgios, who is a negative character for tennis, bothers me. I am for ignoring Kyrgios: if there has to be this match, Sinner will treat him like a normal opponent and we should do the same by ignoring a person who has always spat on tennis. Let’s treat him for what he is: a problematic guy who has done more harm than good to the world of tennis, let’s not give him the weight that he doesn’t have on such important issues, we have to talk less about him because otherwise we are playing into his hands.”

Not to forget, at this year’s Australian Open the Serbian said, “You’ve got to promise me something … recover quick, come back to the tour before I retire and we’ve got to play doubles”. 

Kyrgios has completely reversed his stance on Sinner, with his recent comments starkly contrasting his previous statements.

Nick Kyrgios’ ‘U-turn’ on Sinner

The story dates back to August this year when it was revealed that Jannik Sinner faced two positive tests of doping, the first while in competition during the Indian Wells Open and the second before the Miami Open, in March. “Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned substance (steroid)…you should be gone for two years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…yeah nice,” Nick posted on X at the time when the doping news aired. 

In addition, the Aussie also said, “Why’s he (Sinner) still playing” in an X reply when the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports for imposing a 2-year ban on Sinner. Then, in October, when asked about whether he wants to play Sinner in a doubles match through an Instagram Q&A, he added “I only play with CLEAN players”. 

Fun fact: On Sunday, Nick Kyrgios’s return to singles tennis at the World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi did not go as planned.He suffered a defeat against Andrey Rublev, losing 6-4 in a single-set match. 

Nevertheless, the Djokovic-Kyrgios partnership at Brisbane is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated storylines heading into the Australian Open. Fans will be eager to see how their on-court chemistry translates into a winning formula.