Nick Kyrgios will make his long-awaited return to Grand Slam tennis at the 2025 Australian Open in January.

Kyrgios has been out of action following a series of injuries to his knee, foot and wrist, with his last appearance at a major coming in his run to the US Open quarter-finals in 2022.

The Australian is set to play with a protected ranking of No. 21 – organisers confirmed – a system which sees players injured for over six months granted their average ranking from their first three months of injury.

Kyrgios’ last appearance on court came in a straight-set defeat to Yibing Wu at the Stuttgart Open in 2023. It continued a run of four consecutive defeats, while he also had to pull out of the Tokyo Open in October 2022 because of a knee injury.

The 29-year-old came close to clinching his maiden Grand Slam in the 2022 season, making it to the final of Wimbledon where he was eventually beaten by Novak Djokovic.

The Grand Slam will also see a return for Belinda Bencic under a protected ranking – making her first appearance at a major tournament since 2023.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games singles champion has been out of tournament action due to the birth of her daughter in April and has appeared in Hamburg, Petange and Angers in recent months, as well as the Billie Jean King Cup.

Kei Nishikori will also play with a protected ranking, returning to the Australian Open for the first time since 2021.

Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie, Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartel and Jodie Burrage are the Brits on the entry list.

Djokovic has won 10 Australian titles and will look to become the record holder for most Grand Slam crowns with his 24 trophies currently tied with Margaret Court.