Bernard Tomic has skipped home-grown tournaments ahead of qualifying for the Australian Open next week.
The world No.213 has chosen to play a Challenger tournament in New Caledonia, the only Aussie inside the world’s top-500 to do so.
He has skipped opportunities to play qualifying at the Brisbane International and the Canberra Challenger.
The choice follows Tomic yet again missing out on a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw. He is the highest-ranked Australian not to be offered one, with organisers opting for rising star James McCabe, ranked 43 spots lower than Tomic.
Some believe Tomic’s difficult relationship with Tennis Australia, and in particular Lleyton Hewitt, is the reason for missing out.
Ahead of the 2024 Australian Open, Tournament Director Craig Tiley denied the claims.
"It's not so much about the relationship, but it's about if they're deserving," Tiley said.
"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?"
Concerns about playing in Australia:
The Age previously reported that Tomic was worried about a hostile reception from fans and had considered not playing in the qualifying tournament.
He is currently on the entry list for the event starting on Monday, January 6.
Tomic, 32, has not played a tournament in his home nation since the qualifying tournament of the 2022 Australian Open.
The former Wimbledon quarter-finalist skipped the event in 2024 and wasn’t ranked high enough to earn a spot in qualifying in 2023.
He has not played a lead-up tournament in Australia since eight years ago at the 2017 Brisbane International.
Previously, Tomic had a strong record at home. He made the fourth-round of the Australian Open on three occasions and has a 62 per cent win rate at the Slam.
He also won the Sydney International in 2013 and made the final in 2014.
His best season in years:
In 2024, the former world No.17 had his most successful season in some years.
After falling to No.825 in the world rankings in 2022, he rose back into the top-200 before finishing the year just outside at No.214.
He won an ITF title in Chennai and was runner-up at the Challenger tournament in Fairfield, USA.
On the way to that final, he defeated fellow Aussie Tristan Schoolkate who did receive an Australian Open wildcard.
However, Tomic's season was also marred by public arguments with his then-girlfriend, heckling a player he lost to from the stands and losing the Fairfield Challenger final in record time - just 39 minutes.
He will start his 2025 season against Dutch world No.177 Gijs Brouwer at the Noumea tournament in the round of 32 tomorrow night.
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