Should Nick Kyrgios get an Australian Open wildcard? Former Aussie star debates ‘tough’ decision
Former world No 8 Mark Philippoussis has claimed that the Australian Open faces a delicate “balancing act” over whether to hand Nick Kyrgios a main-draw wildcard.
The main draw of the Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam event of 2026, begins in less than three weeks, with this year’s event set to start on Sunday, January 18, inside Melbourne Park.
As it stands, there are no guarantees that Kyrgios will be in action, with the home favourite’s current ranking of 671st well below the cut-off to enter either the main draw or qualifying.
The 30-year-old used a protected ranking to enter the draw in 2025, though this has now expired heading into the 2026 edition of the event.
Kyrgios has attracted huge controversy on and off the court across his career, though he undoubtedly remains a huge draw in the tennis world, and has been well-supported at his home Grand Slam in the past.
Philippoussis himself knows what it is like to compete as a home player in Melbourne, having reached the fourth round of the Australian Open four times during his career.
However, the former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up admits the tournament faces a tough decision as to award Kyrgios a wildcard or not, following years of injury issues for the 30-year-old.
“I see the upside as far as the eyes being on him there,” said Philippoussis, speaking to AAP.
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2026 Australian Open: Who has received a wildcard and will Nick Kyrgios be awarded one?
“If he can go on and play 100% and loses, that’s OK. If he’s able to compete…and feel good and he loses, that’s no problem at all.
“But if he goes out there and can’t perform but brings in the crowd for a couple of hours, is that enough?
“It’s tough. I see both sides. I see the upside but also the downside as well.
“You get a wildcard at a tournament and you don’t produce because physically you break down, it doesn’t look good. It’s not good for the tournament, it’s certainly not good for the player, so everything is a balancing act.”
Kyrgios was in career-best form back in 2022, reaching the Wimbledon final and US Open quarter-final during a successful season.
However, the former world No 13’s career has been ravaged by injury since then, with the Australian playing just six official ATP matches since the start of 2023.
Kyrgios has previously expressed his wish to return to action and has received a wildcard into the Brisbane International next week, though he looked far from convincing physically in his recent ‘Battle of the Sexes’ versus Aryna Sabalenka.
Philippoussis, who himself battled frequent injury issues across his career, admitted it was difficult to guess how Kyrgios felt about his potential chances of a strong Australian Open campaign.
“I don’t know where his mind is at,” he added.
“I don’t know what he wants to do in his career. Does he want to give it one more go? How serious does he want to take it?
“I know watching him last year and even a couple of years ago, he couldn’t move – and it doesn’t matter how big that serve is if it comes back and you can’t move.”
Philippoussis also addressed the debate about whether the wildcard should go to a younger Australian player, to give them more experience early on in their career.
“If you have got a hungry young Aussie kid who is coming up and give him an opportunity, he could win one or two matches to start off his career and he’s on the way.
“It’s not easy. I certainly wouldn’t want to be a tournament director where you have got to come up with these decisions.
“I think they can leave it until the last second and just see if he looks good. It’s a no-brainer if he looks good and hasn’t pulled up sore.”
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