Melbourne, Australia, 24 December 2021 | Darren Parkin

One of the game’s biggest drawcards will make his return to the court in under a fortnight.

Nick Kyrgios has accepted a wildcard into the main draw of the ATP 250 Summer Set Event in Melbourne which begins on 3 January.

The world No.93 has played just 24 matches since the start of 2020, with 14 of those in Australia. He will play his first professional event since the Laver Cup in Boston in September.

“Obviously, I’m excited to play at home,” Kyrgios told the Herald Sun.

“Tennis Australia has done a great job getting things together and giving us more options to play at home before the Australian Open.

“Giving me a wildcard is awesome — I’ll do my best to put on a show for the fans.”

In 2020, Kyrgios reached the semifinals of the ATP Cup with wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie, before a fourth-round run at the Australian Open, where he lost a terrific contest with Rafael Nadal.

Kyrgios only played one match for the remainder of the year, before his memorable Australian Open 2021 campaign, where he defeated Frenchman Ugo Humbert in a classic five-setter before falling to Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem in the third round.

Fellow Australians Jordan Thompson and Alexei Popyrin are also entered into the ATP 250 tournament.

The playing field is set for the Sydney Tennis Classic.

📍 Sydney OIympic Park Tennis Centre
📆 10-15 January 2022

See you soon in the Harbour City 👋 https://t.co/YDBfF42oh4

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 17, 2021

World No.1 Ash Barty will begin her season at the Adelaide International on 2 January before heading to Sydney, along with 19 of the world’s top 24 players for the WTA 500 event kicking off on 9 January.

Also in Adelaide in the first week of January will be John Millman, who will remember the city fondly for his Davis Cup heroics against Brazil in 2020.

In Sydney, the ATP Cup will take place from January 1, with host nation Australia set to take on defending champion Russia as well as Italy and Austria in Group B.

Australia’s squad contains Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth, Max Purcell, John Peers and Luke Saville.

Afterwards, De Minaur will stay in Sydney for the ATP 250 event that begins on 9 January, and Duckworth will head to Adelaide for the second of the international events in that city.

Welcome back to The AO Show 🎧

Tournament Director @CraigTiley gives an #AO2022 update, and Aussie wildcard @stormsanders94 prepares for her first #AusOpen main draw singles campaign in five years.

Tune in here 👇

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 22, 2021

Storm Sanders and Maddison Inglis, meanwhile, are excited to join Grand Slam champion Sam Stosur and former world No.20 Daria Saville in the Australian Open 2022 field, with the four Australian women recently announced as wildcard recipients.

Saville (nee Gavrilova) has been a tremendous story of perseverance, with the 27-year-old battling a troublesome Achilles for much of the past year.

“I’ve had 10 months off and was working really hard to get back, so I’m really excited to have a chance and the opportunity to play in the main draw of the Australian Open,” Saville said.

For Inglis, a 23-year-old from Perth, this will be a third Australian Open main draw appearance. The world No.140 won five WTA main draw matches during a career-best 2021 season.

“I’m really, really excited,” Inglis said of receiving a wildcard. “It’s my favourite tournament of the whole year … so I can’t wait.”

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