Swiss tennis star receives wild card for Australian Open

Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, has received a wild card to compete in his 20th Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne.

Nick Kyrgios will play only in the doubles event, organizers announced on Friday, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

“The chance to play at the Australian Open at the beginning of what will be my final year on the tour means a great deal to me,” said the 40-year-old Swiss player, a former world No. 3, currently ranked 156th in the ATP standings.

In Melbourne, Wawrinka won the first of his three Grand Slam titles, followed by Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. Wawrinka and Andy Murray are the only two players to have won three Grand Slam titles during the era dominated by the Big Three: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

Kyrgios announced that he is not physically fit to compete in the singles draw in Melbourne after a long break caused by injuries. The last two wild cards were awarded to Australians Jordan Thompson (ATP No. 113) and Chris O’Connell (ATP No. 114). Kyrgios will, however, compete in the men’s doubles tournament alongside his compatriot and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. The pair won the Australian Open doubles title in 2022.

As reported by CE Report, after reaching the Wimbledon final in 2022, Kyrgios endured three years plagued by injuries. He is attempting a comeback but lost his first match since March 2025 earlier this week, in the first round in Brisbane, against American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

The former world No. 13, now ranked 670th, had hoped for a wild card to regain form in Melbourne, but ultimately declared himself physically unready for the singles competition.

“I’ve decided to focus on doubles this year at the Australian Open. I’m fit and back on the court, but five-set matches are a different story and I don’t yet feel ready to go all the way,” Kyrgios said on social media.