Nick Kyrgios confirms professional comeback at Brisbane International 2026
Nick Kyrgios will make his official return to the tour at the 2026 Brisbane International. Following a near-blank 2025 season and multiple surgeries, the 30-year-old Australian is using the January event as a critical litmus test.
Nick Kyrgios, 2025 | © Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors / UTS
The wait is officially over. After a tumultuous period defined more by physiotherapy sessions than highlight-reel tweeners, Nick Kyrgios is set to return to the ATP Tour. At 30 years old, the Australian star is preparing for what many see as the most critical chapter of his career.
The ATP and the Brisbane International confirmed that Kyrgios has been granted a wildcard for the tournament, which runs from January 4 to 11, 2026. For Kyrgios, currently languishing at World No. 671, the event serves as a high-stakes litmus test for his surgically repaired wrist and knee.
While his immediate focus is the 2026 Australian Open, Kyrgios has hinted that this comeback is about proving he can still compete with the elite on his own terms, potentially extending his career for another two seasons if his body holds up.
Nick Kyrgios’ long road back to the ATP Tour
To understand the gravity of this comeback, one must look at the statistical freefall. Following his 2022 Wimbledon final run, Kyrgios’s body became a battlefield. His 2025 season was virtually a blank page; he managed only five singles appearances (one win, four losses), including a first-round exit at the Australian Open and a retirement at Indian Wells, his latest singles appearance to date. His ranking plummeted as he remained sidelined by the long-term effects of his September 2023 wrist surgery and persistent knee swelling.
His return was postponed several times throughout the last year. When we met Nick in Hong Kong in October, he had withdrawn from the UTS competition but noted he was finally closing in on a return to form. During that trip, he focused on the All-Star Game program and creating content, but his mind was clearly back on the match court.
“I’m starting to feel that feeling again of being on court and being able to move how I used to move,” Kyrgios said to Tennis Majors in October. “It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time. I actually do want to go hit right now. I feel like training and I feel like getting on court.”
Overcoming injury: The Washington setback and physical rebuild
The road to 2026 hasn’t been linear. Kyrgios pointed to a doubles appearance with Gaël Monfils in Washington as a pivotal moment of realization. His knee, which had already sidelined him during the grass-court swing, was not responding well and suffered from recurring swelling.
Since that Washington experiment, the focus shifted to a grueling “Phase 2” of rehab in his hometown of Canberra. Kyrgios debunked the myth of the “lazy” talent, describing a routine that is often more demanding than his time on the full-time tour.
“Honestly I have less time to be honest,” Kyrgios admitted when describing his daily grind. “When you’re playing on tour, it’s easy. You wake up, you go warm up, you play a match for 2 or 3 hours, and then you have the whole day to rest. But my routine now is I wake up, I do some gym work, some strength work conditioning, and then I get on court for an hour to two hours and see how my body feels. Right now it’s just training.”
Testing the wrist: Exhibition matches before the Australian Open
While the knee was a primary culprit for his 2025 absences, the Brisbane 2026 return is specifically designed to test his wrist. The wrist remains the most delicate tool for a player whose game relies on 140mph serves and flick-of-the-wrist passing shots. Following his 2023 surgery, Kyrgios admitted to the media that surgeons once told him he might never play again. “I know I will always live with pain, but I don’t want to quit tennis,” he shared earlier in his recovery process.
Before he hits the ATP stage in Brisbane, fans will see him in a series of high-profile exhibitions. He faced Ben Shelton in Atlanta on December 6. His final big test before the official season starts will be the “Battle of the Sexes” against Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai on December 28, 2025.
“Every single guy on the tour is messaging me saying, ‘You’re representing us, so make sure you go out there and do your best,'” Kyrgios noted regarding the Sabalenka clash. “It’s a lot of pressure.”
Why the Brisbane International matters for Kyrgios’ ranking
For Kyrgios, Brisbane isn’t just a warm-up; it’s a homecoming. Having won the title there in 2018, the venue holds significant sentimental value. Kyrgios is currently reliant on wildcards and has no protected ranking left to fall back on. A strong showing in Queensland would not only silence the skeptics who believe his career is transitioning into full-time broadcasting but would also provide the match-fitness required to survive the best-of-five-set format in Melbourne.
As he told us in Hong Kong: “I’ve given pretty much my entire life to this sport. Of course I miss playing. The last couple of weeks have been really encouraging for me because I’ve been back on court and playing.”
