Kyrgios is racing the clock to be fit for the second week of the Adelaide International for what was supposed to be his final preparation for the first grand slam of the year.

But manager Daniel Horsfall says the Kyrgios team will prioritise the Australian Open to ensure the world No. 22 has the best possible opportunity to compete for the title.

Kyrgios hasn't played since the World Tennis League event in Dubai and if he is ruled out of playing in Adelaide he will use training opportunities as his main Open preparation.

"He's been working tirelessly every day to get things done," Horsfall said.

"He's been seeing physios and massage therapists every day and things are going well at the moment, but he'll come back to Canberra to reassess and we'll move forward from there.

"Most of his team and physio Will [Maher] are based out of Canberra, so it's always good to come back to ground zero and prepare for one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

"Over the past 12 months I think the team grew exponentially and we sat down and talked about his goals ... the biggest thing is about making sure the emotional and mental batteries are charged because that's when he performs much better on the court."

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Kyrgios' preparation for the Australian Open was thrust into the spotlight last week when he was forced to defend himself after the ankle injury forced him to withdraw from the United Cup.

Lleyton Hewitt was critical of what he said was a lack of communication about Kyrgios' playing status, but Tennis Australia and United Cup organisers leapt to Kyrgios' defence.

Kyrgios' team had spoken to Tennis Australian and United Cup officials in the days leading up to his withdrawal to keep them informed of his injury status.

To star has been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career, much through his own doing. But his superb 2022 season started to turn public perception as he rocketed up the rankings, won the Australian Open doubles title and was the Wimbledon singles runner up.

This year looms as the biggest of Kyrgios' career and he is determined to put on a show at the Australian Open to build on the foundations he laid last year.

He will pick and choose which tournaments he plays in to manage his workload and prioritise the four major tournaments, which is why he withdrew from the United Cup more than 24 hours before he was due to play.

Horsfall said playing on would have threatened Kyrgios' Australian Open chances, and called on fans and critics to be more balanced in their judgement.

"I feel like double standards are happening more than occasionally. I just wish people would ask more questions before they had their two cents," Horsfall said.

"I'm happy to answer questions, we're not trying to hide anything. What happened [last week] was a bit of a miscommunication between a lot of people.

"If people had contacted us to ask questions, we would have been more than happy to talk.

"If Nick had played injured, or injured himself further or lost the match ... if we had to pull out of the Aussie Open, then people would have said it was a waste to play.

"You've got to pick your poison and deal with it ... hopefully people ask questions before making up their minds."

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