Thanasi Kokkinakis: ‘I didn’t care if I never played again, I didn’t do that cycle anymore’ | ATP tour | Tennis

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Kokkinakis: ‘I didn’t care if I never played again, I didn’t do that cycle anymore’

29-year-old, who is back on the court after an unprecedented operation, explains rehabilitation
January 5, 2026

Thanasi Kokkinakis didn’t expect a first-round doubles match at the Brisbane International presented by ANZ could move him to tears.

But it did just that. The 29-year-old Australian, who underwent radical and unprecedented chest surgery in February, is back competing on home soil in Brisbane, where he teamed up with Nick Kyrgios to a three-set win over Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram.

“I’ve never really left a doubles match in tears, even when we won,” Kokkinakis said. “What I’ve been through in the last 12 months has been crazy. I’ve spoken to a lot of surgeons, a lot of doctors. I’ve spoken to Rafa’s doctor and he wasn’t quite sure what was going on. It was pretty crazy.”

For much of the past year, Kokkinakis has been stuck in a frustrating medical gray area. Chronic problems around his shoulder and chest left him in pain, but without a clear diagnosis or treatment plan, forcing him to rotate between specialists as his season wore on.

“Not a single physio or doctor I saw was really comfortable or confident about what the right path was,” he said. “But I said I didn’t want to keep doing what I was doing. In the past, I’d play one match and maybe have a big win, and my arm would be shot for the next few rounds. I almost thought, ‘I don’t care if I don’t play anymore, I’m not doing that again,’ because it’s almost a tease of what I can do and then I just have to back off.”

That cycle – flashes of form followed by forced withdrawals – ultimately led Kokkinakis to a drastic decision. After years of treating damaged tissue, he agreed to undergo surgery that few tennis players had ever attempted.

“I essentially cut off half of my pecs,” the former No. 65 player in the PIF ATP rankings explained. “I had a bald scar tissue that I played with for about five years. I saw a number of surgeons who didn’t want to operate on it. They thought it was risky, it’s never been done in tennis. Essentially I have an Achilles allograft – or a deceased person’s Achilles tendon – in my arm trying to attach my chest to my shoulder.”

The unprecedented nature of the procedure made the comeback process even more difficult. Unlike common knee or ankle injuries, there was no set route back, no known timelines, and no peers who had walked the same path.

“It’s really hard to come back from that process because you don’t really have anyone to talk to, because no one did it,” Kokkinakis says. “A lot of people have ACL and Achilles ruptures, which are brutal, horrible injuries. But with that, a lot of people have had them, so you know who to talk to and what to do.”

Even reaching the start line in Brisbane required careful management. Kokkinakis acknowledged that simply being fit enough to play doubles felt like a milestone after months of stop-start progress.

During the long rehabilitation, the Australian summer remained his motivation. Kokkinakis has fond memories of this period, after winning his only ATP Tour title in 2022 in Adelaide, the city where he was born.

“There are a lot of uncertainties, but I just trained a lot to try to get myself in a position where I can even play a doubles match,” Kokkinakis said. “It was a complete stop/start. I don’t know how my future will turn out, what it holds, but I did everything I could to at least give myself a chance. I’m taking it day by day.”

The Australian endured isolated winter training in Melbourne with a vision of returning to the court in front of the home fans.

“I was so tired of training, and being in Melbourne in the winter, with no one to really train with, trying to motivate myself for the Australian summer,” Kokkinakis said. “That was always the carrot at the end, just trying to look forward to that moment, not knowing if I can actually play.

“Just doing everything I can. Endless injections, cortisone, trying to get myself to a place where I can get on the field. It’s a feeling that’s very difficult to reproduce. I don’t take it for granted, and I know that’s what I’ll miss the most when I eventually stop playing.”

“All my rehab and everything I did was focused on trying to get back in front of an audience in Australia and be competitive. So I’m really happy.”