Tomic's Open future unclear despite rankings rise

Bernard Tomic’s rise from world No.825 ranked tennis player to No.278 will not guarantee him a spot at the Australian Open, according to tennis boss Craig Tiley.

The 31-year-old has had moderate success across the Challenger circuit this year, reaching the Brasilia Challenger quarter finals last week where he lost to No.85 ranked Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.

While Tomic has had a troubled relationship with Australian Open organisers, Tiley said that won’t be a factor in whether he secures a wildcard.

“It’s not so much about the relationship, but it’s about if they’re deserving,” Tiley explained.

“The things we consider – the form of the player coming in, there is a factor looking at age in some instances because do you want to give a younger player the opportunity versus one who’s been the journeyman for a while.

Bernard Tomic during Australian Open 2022 qualifying.

“We haven’t made the (wildcard) decisions in qualifying yet … we’ve made quite a few decisions on the main draw which we’ll announce in the coming days.”

Tomic last played in the tournament in 2021, where he was bundled out in the second round.

Fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios is no certainty to play in the Open either as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

Previously, in an exclusive interview with Wide World of Sports, Kyrgios wasn’t sure whether his knee would be ready for the tournament but did reveal his one true goal in the sport.

“I want to just be able to say I won one grand slam, singles, before I retire. I think that’s really driving me. I was so close, I was two sets away. I guess that’s what’s driving me,” he said.

Nick Kyrgios looks on during a practice session ahead of Wimbledon.

Tiley confirmed the crowd-pleasing Kyrgios will be involved in the Australian Open in some capacity.

“As I’ve said, we’re going to have Nick here in some form or another in January … hopefully it is to play, because he’s a crowd pleaser, we love watching Nick and we love having him around,” Tiley said.

“It’s hard for me to predict (if he’ll play) … but it’s always likely someone is going to be ready to play because they want to play at the Australian Open.”

The Australian Open starts on January 14-28, live on Nine and Stan Sport.