Polarising tennis star Nick Kyrgios will be able to make his Australian Open return via the main draw after securing his entry via a protected ranking.

Kyrgios will be one of six men and six women using protected rankings at Melbourne Park as he prepares to return from almost two full years on the sidelines.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up will play in Abu Dhabi at the new World Tennis League exhibition event in two weeks’ time before his comeback picks up speed at the Brisbane International.

Kyrgios, 29, is one of 10 Australian men who have qualified automatically for the main draw in a contingent led by world no. 9 Alex de Minaur.

Only one Aussie woman has secured entry through the main draw – world no. 96 Olivia Gadecki, but Daria Saville (106), Ajla Tomljanovic (108), Kimberly Birrell (114) and Maya Joint (118) could be given wildcards without having to go through qualifying in January.

Tournament boss Craig Tiley said in October that Kyrgios would have been given a wildcard if he was unable to use an injury protected ranking.

Japanese former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori will use the same rule to play at his first Australian Open in four years after a resurgent 2024 he capped by winning Finland’s Tali Open on the Challenger circuit last month.

Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic will also make a comeback at the tournament after the birth of her daughter in April.

Six weeks from the start, the tournament was on track for a full-strength main draw with all members of the men’s and women’s top 50 signing on to play.

The cut-off for main draw qualification was at world no. 98 for both the men and women, with eight wildcard spots in each draw and a further 16 to be filled by qualifiers.