Australian Open 2025: Nick Kyrgios aims to return to Grand Slam play after more than 2 years away

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Love him or hate him, Nick Kyrgios is good for tennis and the sport will get a boost from his return to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open — or so he says.

“We watch sport because we want personalities. ... It’s like drama, theater. For me, being personally back, it adds a bit of question marks to, like, ‘What is going to happen today?’ I love that. Every time I step out on court, I don’t know if I’m going to be super controversial in a good or bad way,” 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios said on Friday, when he indicated he thinks he'll be able to compete despite a recent issue with an abdominal muscle.

“Throughout my career, it hasn’t always been good,” continued the 29-year-old Australian, wearing a green hat in support of his favorite NBA team, the reigning champion Boston Celtics, “but it’s added a lot of excitement to the game.”

As play begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday EST), Kyrgios is sure to be among the players garnering the most attention from spectators, media and other athletes, assuming, that is, he is fit enough. He played a total of one singles match across 2023 and 2024 combined while dealing with knee and wrist problems.

He made it sound after a practice session Friday morning — and before a second one planned for the afternoon — as if he'll be ready for his first major in more than two years.

“It's good to be back. I think it’s important,” Kyrgios said. “I think the sport was getting a bit mundane.”

No matter what anyone thinks of Kyrgios — and everyone, it seems, has an opinion, one way or another — there can be no doubt that he is anything but dull.

That goes for on the court, from the booming serves to the between-the-legs shots to the back-and-forths with chair umpires and spectators to the racket smashes and fine-drawing outbursts. Away from the tour, he never seems far away from headlines, either, including when he escaped conviction on a charge of common assault when he pleaded guilty to shoving a former girlfriend to the ground during an argument in 2021. And then there are the times when he offers his thoughts, as a TV commentator or via statements at news conferences or online, that upset folks, including lately about doping cases involving Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.

“I know that people don’t like when I just speak out about things,” Kyrgios said recently, “and (am) honest about things.”

The most recent major tournament that Kyrgios was able to participate in was the 2022 U.S. Open.

He returned to competition last week at the Brisbane International tuneup tournament, playing one singles match and joining Novak Djokovic for two doubles matches.

When it comes to Kyrgios' talent, other players tend to agree with Jordan Thompson's assessment Friday: “If he’s fit, he’s a contender.”

Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion and a three-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, said a healthy Kyrgios is “definitely great for tennis.”

“I would love to see him play against Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner). His biggest weapon is his serve (and) he has the skills and the hands,” Medvedev said. “I’m only happy if he comes back to tennis.”

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Australia's Nick Kyrgios answers questions at a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Australia's Nick Kyrgios plays a backhand return during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

FILE - Andy Murray of Britain cries and waves to the spectators after he and his partner Daniel Evans defeated by Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the United States in the men's doubles quarterfinals tennis match, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - Naomi Osaka of Japan returns a shot to Coco Gauff of the United States in a women's singles match for the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

FILE - Australia's Nick Kyrgios returns the ball from between his legs to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the final of the men's singles on day fourteen of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Nick Kyrgios, of Australia, tosses his racket as he plays Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, right, celebrates beating Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the final of the men's singles on day fourteen of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Friday in Asia after U.S. markets were closed to observe a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

U.S. futures were lower and oil prices advanced.

Regional markets saw a broad decline that analysts said reflects weakening confidence about the chances of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve given recent data showing unexpected strength in the U.S. economy.

Minutes from a Dec. 17-18 meeting released this week showed Fed officials expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs increases under President-elect Donald Trump and other potential policy changes.

The Fed’s staff economists considered the U.S. economy’s future path particularly uncertain at the December meeting, in part because of the incoming Trump administration’s “potential changes to trade, immigration, fiscal, and regulatory policies,”

Attention was focused on a U.S. non-farms jobs report due from the Labor Department later in the day.

“It appears that markets, at some level, are fretting (over) the risk that the Fed will keep policy a lot more restrictive than is conducive for sustaining unbridled ‘risk on,’” Tan Jing Yi of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

Uncertainties over how aggressively might pursue higher tariffs against China and other countries once he takes office also have left investors cautious just days ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

“Increased tariffs against Chinese goods are a given, but it is unclear which other economies in the region will be targeted and whether universal tariffs are still on the table,” ANZ Research said in a report.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.1% to 39,190.40, while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.2% to 2,515.78.

Chinese markets extended losses, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down 0.9% at 19,062.38. The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.3%, to 3,168.52.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.4% to 8,294.10.

Bangkok's SET slipped 0.1%, while the Sensex in India rose 0.1%. Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.3% higher.

In the United States, the bond market remained open Thursday until its recommended closure at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Yields held relatively steady following a strong recent run that has rattled the stock market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was sitting at 4.69% after topping 4.70% the day before, when it neared its highest level since April. It was below 3.65% in September.

Higher yields hurt stocks by making it more expensive for companies and households to borrow and by pulling some investors toward bonds and away from stocks. Yields have been climbing as reports on the U.S. economy have come in better than economists expected. Worries about possible upward pressure on inflation from tariff, tax and other policies that Trump prefers have also pushed yields higher.

In European trading Thursday, London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% to 8,319.69 as the value of the British pound slid against the U.S. dollar amid worries about the United Kingdom’s economy and its government’s finances. A weaker pound can boost profits for U.K. exporters, which can goose their stock prices.

Germany’s DAX lost 0.1% to 20,317.10, and France’s CAC 40 added 0.5% to 7,490.28.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 67 cents to $74.59 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 68 cents to $77.60 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 158.40 Japanese yen from 158.14 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0292 from $1.0301.

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown in New York's Financial District on Dec. 31, 2024. American flags flew at half-staff there following the death of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)