‘Do-or-die’: Thanasi Kokkinakis vows comeback after risky, career-saving surgery
NewsThursday, 04 December 2025 at 10:40
Thanasi Kokkinakis is eyeing a comeback to professional
tennis in 2026 after undergoing a risky surgery earlier this year.
Kokkinakis had been playing in pain from a pectoral injury on
his right shoulder for the last few years. He last appeared on the tour for doubles
duty alongside Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open. The Aussies, both injured,
couldn’t complete their first-round match.
Kokkinakis then decided to step back and undergo a surgery that no other player
had in the history of tennis. The Achilles tendon of a deceased person was transplanted
in his right shoulder in February without any promises of a comeback. Thus
began a long haul of recovery that might be coming to an end as the Australian
summer approaches.
During a recent promotional event, Kokkinakis talked about his
insecurities, the severity of his injury and the risks around the surgery.
“The surgery I did, it’s risky. No tennis player has ever done it. A few surgeons didn’t want to do it but I feel like I had to take a chance and bite the bullet if I want to have a crack at the rest of my career.”
“When you speak to surgeons and tennis players, no one has seen this injury or had a surgery like this before in tennis. It’s pretty daunting. I knew I had to have a crack and why not be the first.”- Thanasi Kokkinakis said on Today Show
The 29-year-old noted he could have been forced to limit
himself to one match per week, which would essentially destroy his career.
"I could have played one match a week for the rest of my career maybe. But in tennis, you can’t do that. You have to be able to string wins together back-to-back if you want to make any inroads in your career or ranking. For me, it was at the do-or-die point. I was like I can’t keep going like this. It was mental torture."
Thanasi Kokkinakis hopes to partner up with Nick Kyrgios at Australian Open again
Further, Thanasi Kokkinakis revealed he would resume his
career by playing doubles at the Brisbane International. He hopes to start in
singles in Adelaide and then assess his chances of entering the Australian Open.
"I’m hoping to start Brisbane doubles, maybe. I’ll try and make my tennis return in Adelaide if all goes well and keeps trending the right way and hopefully I’m in good nick to start Aussie Open. I don’t think I’ll be at my best till sort of mid-year. It’s a tough surgery I’m coming back from but I’d love to get on the court."
Kokkinakis is a former doubles champion at his home Slam. He
won the title with Nick Kyrgios in 2022 and looks forward to another shot at
glory with his compatriot.
“If all goes well, we would love to run it back at Aussie Open. We haven’t given that a fair crack since we won. We were both injured this year when we played and the crowd loves it and that’s kind of why we are doing it.”
Kyrgios, who also had a string of injuries in the recent
couple of years, hasn’t played a match on the ATP tour since July this year.
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