Nick Kyrgios was hit with a one-month ban from tennis after testing positive for cocaine during the grass court season.
The Australian has played intermittently throughout the year, including at the Brisbane International, the Stuttgart Open, and the Mallorca Open.
That was curtailed when he was suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which saw him banned between 4th August and the 3rd September 2026.
Kyrgios can already return to action, but he will wait until the start of the 2027 season before returning to the court.
More Nick Kyrgios news
The controversial star has been confirmed as one of the players at the Kooyong Classic, the exhibition event which takes place just before the Australian Open.
Kyrgios is set to play the event between the 12th and the 14th January and he will be joined by a long list of top stars from the ATP and WTA Tours.
He will be joined by Arthur Fils, Holger Rune, Learner Tien, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov, and last year’s winner Karen Khachanov in the men’s draw.
Two women have also signed up for the event, with Paula Badosa and Alja Tomljanovic already confirmed to appear.
Kyrgios has been a regular at the Australian tournament in recent years and he played the 2026 event.
He defeated Zhang Zhizhen in his only match at the tournament this year, coming away with a 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 victory against the Chinese star.
Whether this means Kyrgios will be returning for a full Australian schedule is anyone’s guess, but the star did enjoy sporadic appearances Down Under in the 2026 season.
He played both singles and doubles at the Brisbane International, with varying results. He was beaten in the first round of the singles by Aleksandar Kovacevic.
In the doubles, meanwhile, Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram in their opening round match, before losing to Fabien Reboul and Sadio Doumbia.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis also played the doubles at the Australian Open, but they were beaten by compatriots Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans in a deciding set tie-break.
The Australian also played doubles in Stuttgart and Wimbledon, with Alexander Bublik, but they only managed to pick up one victory across the two tournaments.
Kyrgios was forced to pull out of the pair’s quarterfinal at the Stuttgart Open due to injury, so his fitness issues have followed him throughout the 2026 season.
The Australian currently sits at world No 911 in the ATP Tour rankings for singles, while in doubles he is world No 1350. As a result, he will continue to require wildcards if he wants to play ATP-level events in the 2027 season.
