Thanasi Kokkinakis believes close mate Nick Kyrgios will not retire from tennis "any time soon" and teased a possible return of the "Special K" duo who claimed the Australian Open men's doubles title in 2022. 

Kyrgios potentially walking away from tennis has been a hot topic in recent days with the former Wimbledon finalist claiming he was ready to walk away in a newspaper column before later walking back his comments.

Kokkinakis believes Kyrgios's recent commentary stint is only temporary and the 28-year old will be back on the court before long. 

"I'm having dinner with him tonight, and he ain't retiring any time soon, so he's good. He's playing," Kokkinakis said. 

"He'll be right. He's commentating short-term but he'll be back playing pretty soon."

With Kyrgios only appearing in one tour match over the last 16 months due to injury there's been precious little opportunity for he and Kokkinakis to repeat their brilliant combination from 2022.

But Kokkinakis has promised a return for the duo, possibly at the 2025 tournament. 

"Special K definitely has to come back," Kokkinakis said.

"We haven't played since we won the doubles here in Australia, so we've definitely got to bring it back and we'd love your support." 

The Special K's attracted rowdy support during their run to glory, especially when playing at the smaller John Cain Arena.

With crowd behaviour coming under examination in this year's Open, Kokkinakis believes the volume of the fans is one of the unique features of playing in Australia and should be celebrated.