- Nick Kyrgios initially said it would send a bad message to the people of Melbourne to host the event.
- He then claimed his comments were taken out of context, despite saying: "I don't think the Aus Open should go ahead."
- The world number 90 also said it was "morally wrong" for organizers to force athletes to get vaccinated.
Australia's number one male tennis player Nick Kyrgios has claimed that comments he made directly calling for the cancellation of the Australian Open have been taken out of context.
Speaking on his podcast 'No Boundaries' on Sunday, Kyrgios said he believed the slam should be cancelled.
"I don't think the Aus Open should go ahead, just for the people in Melbourne. You've got to send a message," Kyrgios said.
"How long did [Melbourne] do in lockdown? 275 days or something?"
After the comments were reported across a number of media outlets, Kyrgios took to Instagram on Tuesday to backtrack.
"To say that I'd want the Australian Open cancelled, I think that was the sentence that got taken out of context," he said.
"It's more so for the people of Melbourne who have gone through hell and back.
"I think it's been nearly 300 days of lockdown and your freedom has been, you know, taken away from you. I don't think it's morally right to accept players from overseas that aren't vaccinated to come into our country."
Uncertainty remains over whether unvaccinated players will be able to take part in the slam which begins in January.
The world number 90 also said it was "morally wrong" for organizers to force athletes to get vaccinated, an opinion shared by world number one Novak Djokovic.
"They [athletes like Djokovic and NBA star Kyrie Irving] are global athletes who millions of people look up to. I just think it is so morally wrong to force someone to be vaccinated. I'm double vaccinated but I just don't think it's right to force anyone and say, 'You can't come and play here because you're not vaccinated.'
Djokovic said in October that it was "inappropriate" to ask him about his vaccination status and refused to reveal if he was vaccinated or not.
Martin Pakula, the sports minister in Victoria — the Australian state in which the tournament is held — said he could not follow the logic of Kyrgios' comments.
"I really like Nick Kyrgios and I cheer for him every time he plays and I certainly don't want to have a beef with Nick Kyrgios but I actually couldn't follow the logic of his comments," Pakula said, as reported by the Guardian.
"We've had a long lockdown so the Australian Open shouldn't proceed? I'm not sure I follow that. I think the opposite applies. Melburnians, Victorians and, frankly, all Australians, are absolutely gagging for major events."