Tennis world in frenzy after Nick Kyrgios goes public with revelation about Novak Djokovic

The tennis world can't quite believe the news ahead of the Australian Open.

Tennis fans have been left stunned after Nick Kyrgios announced he will play doubles with 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic having admitted the champ helped motivate him to get back on the tour. Kyrgios has only played one match since the 2022 US Open after suffering wrist and knee injuries that derailed his career.

Since then, Kyrgios has dabbled in commentary at the Australian Open and Wimbledon as he has worked his way back to fitness. And Djokovic also suggested he wanted to play doubles with the Australian before he retired from the sport.

Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios (pictured left) has announced he will play doubles with 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic (pictured middle) in Brisbane ahead of the Australian Open. (Getty Images)
Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios (pictured left) has announced he will play doubles with 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic (pictured middle) in Brisbane ahead of the Australian Open. (Getty Images)

And it appears Kyrgios will fulfil this request as he prepares for his grand slam comeback at the Australian Open. Taking to his Instagram, Kyrgios posted a photo of the duo heading on the court ahead of their Wimbledon final in 2022 and accompanied the image with the caption: "Doubles at Brisbane. See y'all there".

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Ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, Kyrgios interviewed Djokovic on court at an exhibition. At the time, fans thought Kyrgios would take part in the grand slam but he withdrew.

At this year's Australian Open, Kyrgios interviewed Djokovic during the tournament and the Serbian claimed the duo should play doubles together. "You've got to promise me something ... recover quick, come back to the tour before I retire and we've got to play doubles," Djokoivc said to the Canberra ace.

Kyrgios is battling his way back from three-rounds of surgery and admitted it has been a long road. And he claimed it was a chat with Djokovic, which encouraged him to push harder to make the tennis return when he wasn't sure if he would be back. "I was hitting with Novak and when he said to me, 'it doesn't look like you've had surgery', and that was a big motivation to say like maybe I'm actually making some inroads and some progress into getting back because I didn't really know," Kyrgios recently said.

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"That was a big drive for me ... so, if he didn't say that, I don't know if I would have been motivated and if I would have kept pushing on the thought, but that was definitely a big part of the journey when he said that to me."

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While it will be his first ATP event back since the 2022 US Open, he will take part in an exhibition event ahead of his official return. The 29-year-old will play in the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi from 19 December.

He will take part in the mixed team event with fellow tennis stars Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev. He will then take part in the Brisbane International alongside Djokovic in his official tennis return.

Novak Djokovic trains with Nick Kyrgios.
Novak Djokovic (pictured left) will play doubles with Nick Kyrgios (pictured right) at the Brisbane International.