Nick Kyrgios could be pairing up with rising American teenager Amanda Anisimova in the mixed doubles at the Australian Open.
Kyrgios will begin his singles campaign against Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday, January 21, but could be getting set for a blockbuster mixed doubles partnership as well.
The mixed doubles starts in the second week of the tournament, with Anisimova dropping a hint on social media about her potential partner for the event.
"Aussie open prep...can anyone guess who I'm playing mixed dubs with?" she wrote on Instagram.
It was Kyrgios' comment that has set tongues wagging.
The world number 26 wrote: "let's get it!!!!!! Bout time!"
Kyrgios caused more speculation when he asked when mixed doubles sign-in closes on Twitter.
When does mixed sign in close? #AO2020
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 19, 2020
The pair are friends away from tennis, and have trained and hit with each other on plenty of occasions around the world.
In a quickfire question and answer video posted to Sport360 last year, Anisimova revealed that Kyrgios was her dream doubles partner.
Ranked 24th in the world, Anisimova is a rising star on the women's circuit, recently announcing a new sponsorship deal with Gatorade.
The 18-year-old is coming off a semi-final run at the ASB Classic in Auckland to start the year.
She earned straight set wins over Kateryna Kozlova and Daria Kasatkina before facing Eugenie Bouchard in the quarter-finals. The American walked away with a 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory to book a semi-final showing opposite Serena Williams.
Williams proved far too strong, easing out to a 6-1 6-1 win on her way to winning her 73rd career title.
2019 proved a breakout season for Anisimova, advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open courtesy of wins over Monica Niculescu, Lesia Tsurenko and Aryna Sabalenka. She lost her round of 16 match to eventual finalist Petra Kvitova 2-6 1-6.
She went even better at Roland Garros, making the semi-finals of the French Open, which was won by Australia's Ash Barty.
She didn't drop a single set until coming up against Barty in the semis. It was a run that included another straight-forward win over Sabalenka, before a shock 6-2 6-4 victory over defending champion Simona Halep in the quarter-finals.
She starts her Australian Open singles campaign against Zarina Diyas.
