After playing just six ATP Tour matches in more than three years, Kyrgios makes his long-awaited return this weekend against fellow showman Ben Shelton in the inaugural Atlanta Cup invitational event in Georgia.
Australia's 2022 Wimbledon finalist then ventures to New York's Madison Square Garden to feature in another exhibition against Shelton's fellow American top-20 star Tommy Paul on Monday night.
The one-time world No.13 will round out his global comeback in a "Battle of the Sexes" showdown with women's world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai on December 30.
While fans - and even his opponents - may view the trio of exhibitions as little more than hit-and-giggle tennis, Kyrgios and Australian Open boss Craig Tiley certainly don't.
Having plummeted to No.668 in the world, the colourful Canberran needs a wildcard entry from Tennis Australia to make the Australian Open draw.
As AAP reported last month, Kyrgios's official injury-protected ranking of world No.21 expired on November 10, meaning he can longer gain direct entry to tournaments on medical grounds.
While Tiley has rolled out the red carpet for the drawcard and effectively already promised Kyrgios an AO wildcard, the underdone 30-year-old still needs to prove his battered body can handle the rigours of a full-blown sanctioned tournament.
The mercurial talent is eyeing the Brisbane International from January 4 as the launching pad for a tour return, having made somewhat of a miraculous recovery from career-threatening knee and wrist injuries.
"We have been in touch around what he's doing in the summer and he's obviously got some plans to play," Tiley said on Tuesday.
"But it's going to depend on where his health is.Â
"He's indicated there are a few places that he wants to play, so we haven't finalised those yet.
"But we'll welcome Nick back any time he wants to come back and play because he draws a great crowd and there's a great deal of interest in what he's going to do."
Kyrgios says he's been training like he was during his peak season in 2022, when he lost the Wimbledon final in four sets to Novak Djokovic and then reached the US Open quarter-finals before being sidelined.
"I'm doing an hour of conditioning every day, and then I'm on court for an hour and a half pretty much every day," he told AAP before flying out for the US.
"That's how I was training in 2022. It's all about match play now. If I'm able to play these 'exos' and play these matches and pull up pretty good, then yeah ..."
Kyrgios once said he couldn't see himself playing beyond 30.
And in an era where 40 is the new 30 in sport, he remains adamant he won't be following the lead of Djokovic, who continues his pursuit of grand slams at 38.
"No, I wouldn't see myself playing for like another like three, four years.
"If I'm able to really give it a couple, or one or two years, a big crack, yeah.
"I think everyone knows I'm not a massive planner and goal setter. If I have one massive week or one massive tournament, that would be the goal. Nothing crazy there.
"There are guys like 'Thommo' (fellow Australian Jordan Thompson) that just keep kicking and I love that about him - but that's not me."
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