Nick Kyrgios faces another injury setback in his planned return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open after an abdominal strain forced him to withdraw from an exhibition with Novak Djokovic this week.

Nick Kyrgios wants to shake up “mundane” tennis again as he prepares for an emotional Australian Open return. The 29-year-old is set to play in his home grand slam for the first time in three years following knee and wrist surgeries that cast serious doubt over whether he would ever be back.

Nick Kyrgios is expected to regularly participate in the 2025 Australian Open, although his presence has been put at risk by an abdominal injury. The Australian ace was supposed to be one of the protagonists of the exhibition with Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park on Thursday, but he had to miss that event so as not to risk worsening his injury.