MELBOURNE: Australian Open chief Craig Tiley expressed confidence Thursday that injury-ravaged Nick Kyrgios will be back on court at the season-opening Grand Slam.

The talented but temperamental 29-year-old Australian has played just one ATP tour singles match in two years as he suffered from knee, foot and wrist injuries.

But Tiley said the former Wimbledon finalist, who draws raucous home support at Melbourne Park, was aiming to be back for the January 12-26 tournament.

“We would love to have Nick back playing in 2025, we believe he will be,” Tiley said at the official Australian Open launch.

“He’s out there practising, playing, I’ve been in touch with his team over the last couple of days, and he’s fully expecting to play, and we expect to see Nick on the court playing.”

Exhausted Kyrgios says ‘I don’t want to play anymore’

Kyrgios, who has worked as a commentator during his absence from the court, has plunged down the rankings.

But Tiley was adamant he would be in the main draw, whether through a protected ranking or a wildcard, as opposed to being forced through qualifying.

“The confidence that we get about Nick playing is that in his preparation, we know he’s doing more than he’s done before,” he said.

“We know that he wants to do it. We know that he’s mentally preparing to get ready to play in January. So we fully expect to see him.”

Kyrgios peaked a career-high 13 in the world in 2016 and reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2022, losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic.