The former Wimbledon finalist officially returned at the Brisbane International, with Kyrgios winning one match alongside Novak Djokovic in doubles competition before exiting in the first round of singles to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Kyrgios has mostly been hitting the headlines for his opinions on Sinner, having spoken about wanting to turn a match against the Italian into ‘a riot’.

Many people have been critical of Kyrgios for his opinions including Andy Roddick, with Jon Wertheim now having his say.

Jon Wertheim says that we should not be talking about Nick Kyrgios

Kyrgios received much criticism in particular for his comments on Cruz Hewitt, after the 16-year-old posted a picture with Sinner following a practice session ahead of the Australian Open.

When speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick Tennis Podcast, American journalist Wertheim answered questions over whether Kyrgios should be punished for his recent actions.

“I think there is a larger discussion about how do we handle this,” said Wertheim. “Some people say to me that the ATP should fine him. Part of me is like we should just not be talking about this.

“This is someone who is desperate for attention. Why are we mollifying this? Why are we even bringing this up? This is a guy who hasn’t won a singles match in over a year.”

The last time that Kyrgios won a singles match was at the Japan Open in October 2022, beating Polish player Kamil Majchrzak to reach the quarter-finals.

Will Nick Kyrgios play the Australian Open?

It is not just Kyrgios’ mouth that is getting him into bother, as injury concerns also appear to be a problem ahead of his awaited Grand Slam return at the Australian Open.

Kyrgios had admitted that his wrist was ‘not feeling the best’ in a recent post on Instagram, and has now revealed a new injury concern.

Charity exhibition matches take place at Melbourne Park in the build up to the Australian Open, and Kyrgios was set to face off against his Brisbane doubles partner Djokovic on Thursday.

However, that match is no longer going ahead after Kyrgios took to social media to reveal an abdominal strain.

“Unfortunately won’t be able to play my good friend Novak this Thursday on the 9th as I’ve had an ultrasound on my abdominal and have a grade 1 strain,” said Kyrgios. “Will be resting and doing everything I can to be ok by Australian Open.”

The Australian Open gets underway on Sunday January 12, with Kyrgios set to find out his first round match when the draw takes place on Thursday January 9.

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