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Nick Kyrgios made his much-anticipated return to the tour and played his first singles match in 15 months at the 2025 Brisbane International. While the Australian lost his first-round match at the ATP 250 tournament, he looked in fine touch and up to the task of going toe-to-toe with the best players.
Nick Kyrgios faced French prodigy Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first-round singles match of the 2025 Brisbane International on December 31. In a close contest of serving supremacy, Mpetshi Perricard, who fired most aces on tour in 2024, emerged victorious by edging out Kyrgios in two of the three tiebreakers (7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6(3)).
Mpetshi Perricard went big with first as well as second serves and fired more aces than Kyrgios (36 vs 15). However, the Australian more than held his own for his first professional singles match since a full wrist reconstruction surgery in September 2023. He moved freely around the court and came on top in many rallies.
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Despite the defeat, fans praised Kyrgios' level and were optimistic about his future matches. Some were shocked to see the 29-year-old play so well despite his long absence and fired warning to players who might come up against him in the latter stages of upcoming tournaments.
"I'm actually shocked to say kyrgios looks.... good. granted first match back in 2 years was 2024 newcomer of the year. tempter tantrum boy coming to a SF or QF near you in the coming tournies," a fan wrote.
"He looks rusty, but that should go away with more matches. Not too bad from him," another fan wrote on Reddit.
"2 years out and the rust showed but if he can dig deep like that in his first match back once he gets match sharpness he will be back to his best. Hard to win when u are facing a serve like that too," a fan said.
Fans were also delighted to see that the Australian's serving prowess is still intact and impressed by his ability to push a top-quality opponent to the brink in his first match back.
"Considering Kyrgios has been off tour for so long, his level is not that far away!" a fan wrote on X.
"Nick Kyrgios hasn’t played tennis for a year and is still putting on insane performance’s against quality opponents. Such a talent," a fan commented.
"Kyrgios going toe to toe against Mpetshi in his very first match for over a year is actually insane congrats to Mpetshi as well, played well," a fan wrote.
A fan also claimed that Kyrgios deserved a better draw than Mpetshi Perricard for his first match back on tour and felt that the Frenchman's booming serve could further aggravate the Australian's wrist injury.
"Tennis really fumbled once again. One of your most polarizing stars and you put him against a young flamethrower who hits it 200 miles an hour and is gonna put strain on his injured wrist. Kyrgios deserves better," a fan posted.
Nick Kyrgios is also competing in the doubles draw at the 2025 Brisbane International and has chosen 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic as his partner. This is the first time the two have partnered up in a doubles event.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic win 1R doubles contest in Brisbane
Before his singles contest against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Nick Kyrgios took to the court in Brisbane to play a doubles contest with Novak Djokovic, who is the top seed in the singles main draw at Brisbane. The duo shocked the tennis world when they announced their partnership for the ATP 250 tournament. Kyrgios-Djokovic faced an experienced doubles pairing of Alexander Erler and Andreas Mies in the first-round contest on December 29.
The star duo entertained the crowd with unique shots and registered a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8 win. Kyrgios and Djokovic are set to face top seed Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus in the second round on January 1.
The Brisbane International is serving as a crucial warm-up tournament for Nick Kyrgios ahead of the 2025 Australian Open. The former World No. 13 has entered the main draw in Melbourne via a protected ranking. He will also compete in the doubles category and has paired up with Thanasi Kokkinakis, with whom he won the doubles title at the Australian Open in 2022.
