A year after he withdrew from Wimbledon, Nick Kyrgios is back at the All England Club and will join former world No. 1 Ash Barty in the commentary box during the Championships.

While Barty, who returned to Wimbledon with her family on Saturday, will play in the Legends event in the second week, the Canberran is eyeing a return to the tour proper next month.

Meanwhile, Aussie debutants Rinky Hijikata, Adam Walton and Olivia Gadecki are looking forward to their first experience at Wimbledon and veteran Alex Bolt has revealed Alex de Minaur is not the only Australian dating an English player named Katie.

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FORMER FINALIST DETERMINED TO GIVE HIS FANS ‘THE NICK KYRGIOS EXPERIENCE’

Nick Kyrgios has arrived in London to commentate for the BBC and ESPN but is eager to track down some old rivals for practice as he eyes a return to the tour next month.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist withdrew from last year’s Championships on the eve of the tournament citing a wrist complaint and subsequently underwent specialist surgery in Adelaide last September.

The 28-year-old, who was also troubled by a knee complaint through the infancy of 2023 and managed to play only a solitary match in Germany for the year, is treading warily for understandable reasons.

There are several examples of elite players who have struggled to find their best again after wrist surgery, with 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini among those who have failed to reach their former heights on tour.

Kyrgios is planning to play in the fast-paced Ultimate Tennis Showdown, an exhibition series run by French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, in New York ahead of the US Open in late August, though whether he actually plays at Flushing Meadows is not certain.

In an interview with uts.live conducted this week, the Canberran said he wanted to give fans the “Nick Kyrgios experience” once again.

“I’ve missed beating people. I miss winning. And I was winning so much in 2022 before I had to stop,” he said.

“I want to get back out there and have that feeling and I feel that I want to give my fans one more year, or two more years, of the Nick Kyrgios experience.”

An Australian and US Open quarterfinalist as well, Kyrgios is open to playing doubles in the infancy of his comeback and hopes to be able to rejoin the circuit over the next couple of months.

“I’m back in London doing a lot of TV commentary of Wimbledon, which is exciting,” he said in a soon-to-be-released interview.

“But I’m also doing training during these two weeks. I’m trying to have some hits with the players that are here to see where my wrist is at. It’s been 10 months since my surgery, so I’ll try to work my way back onto court.

“I’ll be playing doubles in the next month (on the ATP Tour). It will be exciting. I’ll probably start there and hopefully, if everything is OK, I’ll move to singles and then I’ll see how long I’ll hang around for.

“I missed competing, I missed hearing the crowd, my fans. Even the people that hate me, I miss them, I miss them all. I can’t wait to be back.”

BIG MOMENT FOR AUSSIE DEBUTANTS

When Rinky Hijikata arrived in London last month, he walked around the Queen’s Club with his eyes wide open as he considered the history of the prestigious club.

One of three Australian debutants at Wimbledon in 2024, the Sydneysider took in an honour roll featuring the greats and was delighted to come across a photograph of Scott Draper.

The left-hander, who won the Queen’s event in 1998, is the younger brother of Hijikata’s coach Mark Draper and the emerging Aussie was keen to soak in the history of the club.

It will be the same matter at Wimbledon when Hijikata, who reached quarterfinals at the Queen’s Club and Mallorca in the lead-in to the major, arrives at the All England Club to complete a box set of appearances in the majors.

The 23-year-old, who reached the 4th Rd at the US Open last year, is looking forward to the experience ahead, which includes taking his place alongside compatriots in “Aussie Corner”.

This is an unofficial part of one of the locker rooms at Wimbledon – there is a separate room for seeded players and former champions – where generations of Aussie men have had the tales of former glory passed on to them.

“This is probably the one that I was most looking forward to – this or (the) Aussie Open. So I can’t wait. (It is) a dream come true,” Hijikata said.

“It’s probably … the most prestigious and important tournament in tennis (and I’m) really excited to get out there. I feel like whenever you’re growing up and you pick up a racquet, your dream is to win Wimbledon one day.

“I feel like that’s kind of the benchmark in tennis. This is the one that you really want to win. And … ever since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamt of playing here and obviously I’ve been close a couple times now, but to … get here on my own merit this year feels good and I’m just really excited.”

Hijikata, who attended the University of North Carolina, will play Italian Flavio Cobolli in the opening round.

Another former collegiate graduate Adam Walton, who plays Federico Coria, had never been to Wimbledon before Friday and was in awe of the club in the southwest of London.

“It’s a very special tournament. It’s very prestigious and everything,” he said.

“Other than the Australian Open, it’s obviously probably the next best tournament for us Australians to play. I’m just really looking forward to the opportunity to play on Tuesday.”

A BOLT FROM THE BLUE FORCES SOUTH AUSSIE TO MAKE SWIFT DECISIONS

Alex Bolt has had to make decisions on the fly over the past week in London.