It was only last week that Nick Kyrgios made headlines by making his return to the court after almost five months. The 31-year-old racked up a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory over Corentin Moutet at the Stuttgart Open, which sent the rumors of his return to Wimbledon abuzz. However, former ATP pro Greg Rusedski doesn’t want Kyrgios to get a direct entry into the main draw.

“I’m not entirely convinced he deserves a main draw invitation,” he said on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast. “I think a qualifying invitation would be more appropriate… It’s one thing to play matches in best-of-three sets, but it’s another to play matches in best-of-five sets.”

There are serious doubts over Kyrgios’ fitness, as persistent problems with his knee and wrist have affected his participation on the tour in the last few years. Rusedski firmly believes that the Australian isn’t ready to play three-set matches yet.

“The big question is whether he has enough competitive rhythm and whether he is physically ready to play matches in best-of-three sets. That’s where Wimbledon will really need to assess the situation,” he added.

Kyrgios has been regularly battling injuries since his high-flying 2022 season. He made his one and only Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and had also reached the semis in Stuttgart and Halle that season, and has undergone four knee surgeries since. He also suffered a torn wrist ligament that required reconstruction to fully heal.

As a result, he has been absent from the tour for months. The 2025 season was arguably the lowest point of Kyrgios’ career as he only competed in a total of five tournaments throughout the year. He was knocked out in the first round of the singles draws in two of these events and finished the year with an abysmal win-loss record of 1-3.

Kyrgios didn’t play for the last five months due to an injury in his right knee. after appearing at the Brisbane International in January earlier this year, but was eliminated in the first round by Aleksandar Kovacevic. He decided not to enter the singles draw of the Australian Open and instead played men’s and mixed doubles.

The Australian would then be out for another four months due to persistent problems with his knee, following which he made an unexpected singles return in Stuttgart. Though the victory over Moutet was a major boost to his confidence, injuries have once again returned to haunt Kyrgios as he pulled out of the Terra Wortmann Open

Although the details of the injury are unknown yet, it only adds to Rusedski’s concern. However, this wasn’t the end of his misery.

Nick Kyrgios isn’t included in Wimbledon’s initial wildcard list

The SW19 announced its preliminary wildcard list for the upcoming edition of the tournament on Tuesday. While six out of the eight wildcard entries for the men’s singles draw have already been decided, Nick Kyrgios’ name wasn’t included. This poses a major roadblock in his path to making a singles comeback in the Championships.

The likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones, Toby Samuel, and Stan Wawrinka are the ones who have been handed a wildcard so far.

However, the Australian has been confirmed to make a return to the SW19 as he has been given a wildcard in the men’s doubles draw. He has formed a pair alongside Alexander Bublik for the 2026 edition, and they are among the five teams to have been given direct entry into the main draw so far.