Kokkinakis Tears Up on Brisbane Return
Thanasi Kokkinakis wipes away tears after a doubles win in Brisbane, his first steps back after a radical pectoral surgery that ended a year of pain and uncertainty.
Under the Brisbane sun, Thanasi Kokkinakis gripped his racket tighter than usual, stepping onto the court for a first-round doubles match at the Brisbane International. Paired with Nick Kyrgios, he outlasted Matt Ebden and Rajeev Ram in three sets, the victory hitting harder than any baseline rally. At 29, the Australian felt tears welling up, a raw release after a year that tested every fiber of his resolve.
“I’ve never really teared up from a doubles match, even when we won,” Kokkinakis said. “What I have gone through the past 12 months is crazy, speaking to a lot of surgeons, a lot of doctors. I spoke to Rafa’s doctor and he wasn’t quite sure what was going on. It was pretty crazy.”
Trapped in medical limbo
For months, chronic pain in his shoulder and chest kept him sidelined, bouncing between specialists without a clear path forward. No physio or doctor felt confident in the right approach, leaving him to push through sporadic matches only to withdraw when agony flared. Each flash of form teased his potential, amplifying the frustration as his ranking slipped below No. 65.
“No physio or doctor that I saw was really comfortable and confident of which was the right way to go,” he reflected. The cycle wore him down, turning every practice into a high-stakes gamble. On Brisbane’s medium-paced hard courts, where the bounce favors controlled aggression, he now serves with caution, mixing kick serves to ease torque on the repaired joint.
Embracing the radical surgery
Desperation led to a bold choice: surgery to remove scarred pectoral tissue and graft in an Achilles allograft, a procedure few in tennis had attempted. Surgeons warned of the risks, with no precedents in the sport’s demanding mechanics. Yet after years of injections and cortisones, he opted for the unknown over endless half-measures.
“I essentially cut half my pec off,” he described the operation. “I had a bald scar tissue that I was playing with for five or so years. I saw a bunch of surgeons that didn’t want to operate on it. They thought it’s risky, never been done in tennis. Essentially I have an Achilles allograft — or a dead person’s Achilles — in my arm trying to attach my pec to my shoulder.” Recovery meant uncharted territory, unlike ACL tears or Achilles ruptures where players share timelines and tips.
Fueled by summer’s promise
Rehabilitation blurred into isolation, with winter sessions in Melbourne’s chill demanding solo drills and mental fortitude. The Australian swing anchored his efforts, memories of his 2022 Adelaide title—his lone ATP triumph—driving late-night rehab. Brisbane marked the first milestone, a doubles outing to rebuild match rhythm before singles at the Australian Open.
“it’s really hard coming back from that process, because you don’t really have anyone to speak to because no one’s done it,” Kokkinakis noted. “A lot of people do ACLs and Achilles ruptures, which are brutal, terrible injuries. But with those, a lot of people have had them, so you know who to speak to and what to do.” Even this return required precision: lighter loads in practice, monitoring serve speeds to protect the graft amid the humid Queensland air.
Stop-start progress tested his patience, but home crowds provided the spark. “There’s a lot of unknowns, but I have just done a lot of training to try and get myself in a position where I can even play a doubles match,” he said. “it’s been very stop/start. I don’t know how my future is going to go, what it holds, but I’ve done everything I can to give myself at least a chance. I’m taking it day by day.”
The win reignited a fire dimmed by what-ifs, with crowds roaring as he traded volleys. Isolated training had been grueling, yet the vision of competing in Australia kept him grinding. “I was so sick of training, and just being in Melbourne in the winter with no one to really train with and trying to motivate myself for the Aussie summer,” he shared. “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, cortisones, trying to get myself to a spot where I can take the court. it’s a feeling that is very hard to replicate. I’m not taking it for granted, and I know that’s what I will miss the most when eventually I stop playing.” All efforts focused on this stage, blending tactical tweaks—like 1–2 patterns from the baseline to stretch opponents—with emotional resilience. As the Brisbane International unfolds, his adjusted game on these grippy hard courts positions him for deeper runs, turning survival into resurgence ahead of Melbourne Park.
