Nick Kyrgios may not get the chance to play his final match at the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
could be denied his swansong after his doubles partner cast doubt over his fitness to play their opening match in Melbourne.
following a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2) defeat to Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, who went on to seal his place in the third round on his debut Slam appearance.
The Australian, 29, was playing in his first competitive match in over 18 months after undergoing wrist surgery in 2023.
he plays singles at his home tournament Down Under after a painful defeat at Melbourne Park.
His next match in the tournament sees him pair up with compatriot and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis for an all-Australian encounter against duo James Duckworth and Alexander Vukic.
But Kokkinakis – who won the doubles title with Kyrgios in 2022 – admitted he harbours some guilt at potentially denying his friend a farewell at the John Cain Arena if he cannot recover in time.
“I feel like I’m letting him [Kyrgios] down, letting people down. But yeah, I don’t know,” Kokkinakis said on Tuesday when asked if he would be playing in the doubles.
“I won’t be able to lift my arm tomorrow, so we’ll see. Unless we’re both playing with underarm serves, it’s looking pretty unlikely.”
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios won the Australian Open doubles title in 2022 (Image: Getty)
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Kokkinakis suffered a heart-wrenching defeat to British No 1 in round two, losing 6-7 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to the 15th seed despite taking a 2-1 lead in sets.
It marked the seventh time in his career that he has failed to make it past the second hurdle at his home tournament in the singles bracket.
Speaking after his defeat, the Adelaide native, 28, revealed that a long-standing pectoral problem has blighted his career – leaving him unable to play matches in quick succession.
“There’s a tear, for sure. I’m playing with a crazy amount of scar tissue in there,” Kokkinakis added. “It’s something that every time I show a physio or a doctor or something, they’re taken back by it.
Thanasi Kokkinakis revealed he has been struggling with a pectoral issue (Image: Getty)
“I’ve tried to sort it out for years manually, without surgery, just trying to do what I can. It’s the reason why I can’t back up big matches.
“My whole body is fine. It’s just the same injury that I worked so hard on to try to get right. I still can’t do it. That’s the thing holding me back.
“I think it’s one of the big things stopping me from being able to reach my goals. Yeah, I’ve had a pretty bad pec[toral] tear there for a while. There’s a lot of scar tissue build-up.
“Essentially I can’t play back-to-back intense matches no matter how much I train for it and try it. It’s very deflating.”