Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis will play doubles together again and it will happen at the 2023 Wimbledon.
The Special K's, as the Australian duo is referred to on the doubles court, had a really superb 2022 season. It all started with the Australian Open triumph, and they also continued their successful run in Atlanta, capturing another title and eventually securing their spot in the ATP Finals.
Although they won only one match in the competition that gathers the eight best doubles teams, Special K's proved that they are really special. Fans are yet to see Kyrgios and Kokkinakis on the tennis court together since their appearance in Turin, but that will change soon.
The two were set to compete together at the Australian Open, but since Kyrgios was forced to withdraw, their premiere in 2023 was postponed. Now, the Australian withdrew also from the Roland Garros, but he should be ready for Wimbledon.
Last year, Kyrgios said that the doubles format in the All England Club isn't really attractive as players had to play in the best-of-five format. That changed this year, with a best-of-three format introduced to men's doubles, making the competition even more interesting for the duo.
Now, ahead of the 2023 Roland Garros where he's set to compete, Kokkinakis spoke about the plans of their doubles pairing for the future, revealing that they will compete at the Wimbledon as they talked about it on Thursday.
"The plan right now is to play Wimbledon, obviously health permitting. We're going to sign in to the doubles there - we actually spoke about that on Thursday. We haven't played for a long time, and I haven't played much doubles at all this year as it isn't as much a priority for me this year, but I still want to play in some of the bigger tournaments because it's still a fun experience with him."
Kokkinakis also disclosed that he made a decision to play doubles at Roland Garros with Jan-Lennard Struff, and if Kyrgios isn't ready for the Wimbledon, he'll sign up for the doubles there with German too.
"I'm playing here in Paris with Struff here - so we'll see how that goes. If Nick wasn't ready for Wimbledon, I'd have played with him again at Wimbledon, but Nick's always up there as my choice of doubles partner. Nick and I get on really well, it's more than just having good results for us, we enjoy our time on the courts together - and it was a friendship first and that's why we play doubles in the first place."
The Australian also shed some light on Kyrgios' schedule, as having a good grass-court season will be important for him.
"I think the plan for him is to be ready for Wimbledon and play a few lead-ins. Stuttgart was up there, I think. I'm not sure if he's going to Queen's or Halle, but hopefully he's ready. By all accounts, his recovery has been a bit slower than he thought, but I think he's on the mend now and it's looking positive for the grass."
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