Wawrinka handed Australian Open wildcard in final season

Stan Wawrinka has been handed an Australian Open wildcard as he begins the final season of his career, with Australian Nick Kyrgios missing out.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka announced in December that 2026 will be the final season of his trophy-laden career.

The 40-year-old former world number three won the first of his three major titles at Melbourne Park.

"Winning the Australian Open in 2014, my first Grand Slam title, is an absolute career highlight for me, so I'm incredibly grateful to receive this wildcard," said Wawrinka.

"To have the chance to play the Australian Open at the beginning of my final year on tour means the world to me."

Wawrinka is currently ranked 156th in the world and won the most recent of his 16 titles in Geneva in 2017.

Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios said he had chosen not to contest the men's singles competition at his home slam because he does not yet feel ready to play five-set matches.

The 30-year-old, who has fallen to 670th in the world after struggling with injuries over recent seasons, will enter the men's doubles competition, having won that event in 2022 alongside compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis.

"After some good conversations with Tennis Australia I've made the call to focus on doubles for this year's AO," Kyrgios wrote on social media.

"I'm fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I'm not quite ready to go the distance yet.

"This tournament means everything to me, but I'd rather give my spot to someone who's ready to make their moment count.

"It's all building blocks and I'll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there."

Kyrgios not being fit enough to compete in five-set Grand Slam matches appears to have got tournament director Craig Tiley out of a tight spot.

With three wildcard spaces left in the men's singles, somebody had to be left out of the equation and whatever Tiley decided would have been a contentious move.

There is no doubt Wawrinka deserves the honour of a farewell appearance given what he has achieved in Melbourne and his career as a whole.

The inclusion of the humble, hard-working veteran - and the opportunity to see one of the greatest single backhands in the game again on the biggest stage - will please many people.

The divisive Kyrgios might be far from his peak but is undoubtedly still an attractive draw at Melbourne Park - as witnessed by the packed crowd which boisterously cheered him on against Britain's Jacob Fearnley last year.

His recent performances showed he was physically short for top-level singles matches. In the much-maligned Battle of the Sexes he played at a pedestrian pace and looked troubled in a quick defeat on his ATP comeback in Brisbane.

That paved the way for Jordan Thompson and Chris O'Connell to be awarded two of the spots - fulfilling the expectation of giving a leg-up to Australian players and boosting the home contingent - before Wawrinka was finally rewarded.