The doping scandal that reshaped Nick Kyrgios’ season: 'French Open was never on the cards'

Everything indicated that Kyrgios would not return until at least the grass-court swing, both due to his physical condition and his past reluctance to participate on clay. Although he was not on the entry list for the French Open singles, the surprise came when he appeared on the doubles entry list alongside his compatriot Jordan Thompson, currently No. 7 in the doubles ranking.

Without a doubt a high-quality pair, as Kyrgios can boast a Grand Slam doubles title back in the 2022 Australian Open alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. On Thompson's side, he was champion at the 2024 US Open alongside Max Purcell, in addition to reaching the Wimbledon doubles final in the same year.

However, things changed radically for Thompson in his planning for this year after his partner Max Purcell accepted an 18-month suspension for anti-doping rule violations. Thompson, one of the most prominent doubles players of the last year, decided to look for a new partner to face Roland Garros, and Kyrgios was chosen, with whom he spoke personally to convince him to be his partner in Paris.

“The French Open was never really on the cards," Kyrgios told The Canberra Times. "But after the stuff with Max Purcell, Jordan was looking for a partner and he asked me if I wanted to play. We've played at the French Open before, so it'll be good to get out there and play with another fellow Aussie and have a bit of fun."

Indeed, Kyrgios had already teamed up with Thompson previously at the 2017 French Open – precisely the last time Nick was at Roland Garros. They performed well, eliminating second seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the first round – and reached the third round, falling to Sebastian Gonzalez and Donald Young, the eventual runners-up of the tournament.