The Rio Olympic Games' loss is set to be Canberra's gain as the capital launches a bid to host Australia's Davis Cup tie in September to give Nick Kyrgios a chance to play in front of a home crowd.
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Tennis ACT has lodged its application to win the rights to host Australia's tie against Slovakia in a world group play-off with a decision on a venue to be made in the coming weeks.
Kyrgios' public falling out with Australian Olympic chef de mission Kitty Chiller led to the Canberra star withdrawing from selection contention for the Rio Games.
World No. 18 Kyrgios was set to make his Olympic debut until Chiller put him on watch for behavioural issues, sparking an ongoing battle of words between the pair.
Chiller has since admitted she made an error lumping Kyrgios in with a statement on Bernard Tomic and the Australian Olympic Committee says Chiller could have handled the situation better.
But the silver lining for Canberra is that Australia's top-ranked males, Kyrgios and Tomic, withdrawing from the Olympics means they will be fresh to potentially play Davis Cup.
Had Kyrgios and Tomic committed to the Olympics, they would have gone through a gruelling campaign in Rio followed by the US Open and then the Davis Cup tie in six weeks.
"It's a tough time to play the US season and then to come back to Australia to play, we've seen that be challenging in the past with a heavy schedule," said Tennis ACT boss Ross Triffitt.
"Nick's going deeper into events now and playing more. If anything, the silver lining out of Rio is that he'll have fresher legs [if the tie is in Canberra] and be in a better place to put in a good performance for the Davis Cup.
"Nick is a huge advocate for Canberra and has been really supportive of our bids in the past. To have the opportunity to play for his country right here in Australia would be an exciting prospect for him."
Tennis ACT believes its $27 million base at the Canberra Tennis Centre is ready to host its biggest event after passing the test with multiple challenger tournaments.
The biggest hurdle looms as the Australian team's decision on whether to play on grass or hard courts.
If Australia decides on grass, Canberra would almost certainly miss out on a chance to host the tie.
But Triffitt is holding out hope that hardcourts could be the preference given Australia's top players will be coming out of the US hardcourt season.
Tennis ACT also investigated hosting the tie at the AIS Arena to ensure wet weather would not play a factor or the September 16-18 event.
However, it was decided the Canberra Tennis Centre was a better venue and Tennis ACT will start putting plans to build a temporary grandstand in place if its proposal is successful.
"The first decision will be about the surface and we expect that in the coming days," Triffitt said.
"If it's grass, our chances are slim to none. But if it's hardcourt, we're in with a good shot.
"We don't have an existing stadium and it would be outdoors in September ... but we've put in our expression of interest. We've got a great venue and we're confident we've got a good showing."
The Australian team is led by Lleyton Hewitt and Slovakia have just one player in the world's top 100.
Hewitt and his players will be consulted about their preferred surface after Australia was forced into the world group play-offs when they lost to the United States in March. Australia drew Slovakia and secured a home clash after winning a coin toss.
