Ahead of the US Open, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has activated his protected ranking. As a result, the 2022 Australian Open doubles champion will now get an automatic entry to the main draw.
On Wednesday, the US Open announced the 2025 draw via USOpen.org, indicating that Kyrgios, Petra Kvitova, and Sorana Cirstea would be using protected rankings for the tournament.
Kyrgios, who once reached a career high of No. 13 in the world in 2016, will now enter the tournament ranked No. 21.
For Kyrgios, the tournament will give him a chance to potentially close out the year strong after injuries derailed much of his 2025 season.
After losing in the first round at the Australian Open, Kyrgios continued to battle injuries leading up to Indian Wells in March, where he was forced to retire from a first-round match against Botic van de Zandschulp due to lingering pain in his surgically-repaired wrist.
Just weeks later, however, he picked up his first win of the season, defeating American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round of the Miami Open before falling to Karen Khachanov in the second round.
Kyrgios Will Play Singles and Doubles At US Open
In addition to using his protected ranking to play singles at the US Open, Nick Kyrgios will also play mixed-doubles with Naomi Osaka.
Kyrgios, who was seen in Osaka’s player box at Wimbledon earlier this month, is notably signed to Evolve, a sports agency co-founded by the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Following her first-round win over Talia Gibson, Osaka downplayed the situation during her post-match press conference, saying that she extended an invite to the polarizing Aussie, however, she didn’t realize that he actually attended:
“Oh, he was there? I didn’t hear nothing. I jokingly told someone, ‘Hey, I know Nick’s around. Maybe he wants to come to my match.’ But I was joking. Because I know we’re like two completely different players.”
“Honestly, I would’ve loved to come to his matches because I know he’s pretty fun. I think that’s also a big part of why we’re different. I know he kind of tells his box what to do, and he probably would’ve noticed if I was in there, and I kind of like zone out most of the time.”
Now, the two will have a chance to make a run at a US Open mixed-doubles title.
Looking at Nick Kyrgios’ Recent Injury Struggles This Season
Nick Kyrgios’ 2025 season has largely been defined by injuries, much like his 2024 season.
At the start of the year, Kyrgios lost his first-round singles match at the Australian Open before withdrawing from his first-round doubles match with Thanasi Kokkinakis due to an abdominal strain.
Then, as previously mentioned, while playing at Indian Wells in March Kyrgios was forced to retire from his first-round match against Botic van de Zandschulp due to his surgically-repaired wrist,
Despite that, Kyrgios managed to play Miami weeks later, where he appeared to be in-form early on. As the match progressed, however, rust appeared to play a factor, with Khachanov winning a first-set tiebreak before bageling the Aussie in the second.
While there was hope that Kyrgios would be able to play Wimbledon, a knee injury wound up forcing the former finalist to the sidelines.
Now, after taking several months off to recover, it’ll be interesting to see if Kyrgios can return to form.
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