Nick Kyrgios Goes to War with Greg Rusedski Over his Australian Open Wildcard Comment

Nick Kyrgios will kick off his 2026 season at the Brisbane International in Australia.

Nick Kyrgios Goes to War with Greg Rusedski Over his Australian Open Wildcard Comment

Nick Kyrgios and Greg Rusedski (via X/Jose Morgado/Tennis Gazette)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Nick Kyrgios has responded harshly to Greg Rusedski following criticism from the former ATP player regarding the Battle of the Sexes clash against Aryna Sabalenka and his claim that Kyrgios should not be given a wild card for the upcoming Australian Open. The Aussie recently arrived in Australia for the Brisbane International.

Rusedski has been in the news in recent weeks after starting a podcast show known as the Off Court with Greg. After Kyrgios defeated Sabalenka at the Battle of the Sexes clash 6-3, 6-3 in Dubai, some pundits revealed that the former World No. 13 has not lost his classical style of play on the court and might be the player to watch out for in 2026.

Meanwhile, Kyrgios has not played a tour-level match since August and was not sure of competing in 2026 before he played against Sabalenka at the exhibition match. Also, he was languishing outside the Top 600 in the ATP rankings and was just returning from a career-threatening wrist injury that had troubled him for the three years on tour.

When Rusedski was discussing Kyrgios’ chances in 2026, he noted that the Australian star might have a good run at the Brisbane International, but indicated that if he were the one to decide who was going to get a wildcard for the Australian Open, he wouldn’t give one to Kyrgios. The statement went viral on social media, and it got the attention of some reporters.

On arriving at Brisbane ahead of the tournament, he was approached by reporters about Rusedski’s statement. The former Wimbledon finalist wasted no time to slam the former British No.1 and highlighted that Rusedski failed a drug test in 2004, which makes him the first person to discuss his career.

Pretty sure Greg got done for performance enhancing drugs once in his career, so I wouldn’t take too much advice from someone like that. I didn’t even know the comments he made to be honest. I’ve just been enjoying time back home, enjoying all these amazing events, selling out stadiums around the world. If you let me know when Greg sold out a stadium last time he played, yeah, you let me know.

Kyrgios received a wildcard for the Australian Open in 2025 after just returning to the tour following a long period of injury crisis. The 30-year-old failed to win his opening match at the tournament, losing to British star Jacob Fearnley. The Australian Open director, Craig Tiley, has already noted that he might not get a wildcard.

Greg Rusedski responds to Nick Kyrgios after bringing up his past

Greg Rusedski failed a drug test in 2004, when he was still a professional player. The former British No.1 went on to clear himself of taking banned drugs despite testing positive for the steroid nandrolone. A tribunal ruled that he had taken the drug inadvertently in pills handed out by trainers employed by the ATP.

Greg Rusedski
Greg Rusedski (via Tennis Insiders)

Rusedski reached a career-high ranking of World No.4 in 1997. After Nick Kyrgios’ response to his statement on his podcast, the former British player replied to the Australian star on X. He revealed in his response that Kyrgios should have read the judgment of the tribunal before commenting on his failed drug test:

Maybe before you comment you should actually read the judgement and understand the case. I was exonerated and proven 100% innocent! Last time this happened your agent had the decency to apologise for your behaviour and no further action was taken.

Nonetheless, this is not the first time that Kyrgios has shown his vicious tongue in his professional career. The former World No.13 knows how to hit back at people’s comments and attack them with their mistakes. Last year, he notoriously went against Jannik Sinner after the Italian was handed a three-month suspension for doping.

Also Read: Alexander Zverev’s Brother Skeptical Novak Djokovic Can Challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026