Kokkinakis returns: “The Achilles tendon of a dead man in the arm”

Tears, joy and perhaps a sigh of relief. This is how the start of 2026 can be told for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who returned to the court in Brisbane with a doubles victory together with his friend Nick Kyrgios. A success with a value that goes far beyond the result, which came at the end of his first match after exactly one year of absence from the circuit. At the end of the match, the Australian couldn’t hold back his emotion as he looked back on an ordeal of injuries, pain and surgeries, culminating in a return that until recently seemed unthinkable: “What I’ve experienced in the last twelve months has been absolutely crazy. Today I have an Achilles tendon in my arm that belonged to a deceased person, used to reattach the pectoral muscle to the shoulder.”

the story

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In recent years Kokkinakis has often lived with persistent pain in his shoulder and arm, which has limited his performance on the court, especially on serve and power shots, which have always been the strong points of his tennis. “I would play a match, maybe even get a big win, and then my arm would be destroyed for the next few rounds,” he told a press conference. Tired of playing intermittently and far from his level, the former world number 65 decided to try a different path: in February 2025 he underwent an operation never before faced in the world of tennis after suffering an injury that he himself explained. “I literally cut off half of my pectoral muscle – explained the tennis player from Adelaide – I had been living with a fibrous scar for five years. Many surgeons told me that operating would have been too risky, that such a procedure had never been done in our sport. Today I have an Achilles tendon from a deceased person in my arm, to reattach the pectoral muscle to the shoulder”.

hope

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Already in September, in an interview with AAP, Kokkinakis had defined the operation as “a gamble, a risk”. A concept reiterated even after the victory in Brisbane: “I spoke to many surgeons and doctors, even Nadal’s doctor, and I wasn’t really sure what I was facing. Nobody could tell me for sure what would happen.” Despite the doubts, the goal has always been one: to get back on the court and try to feel like a professional tennis player again. “It’s been a very tough year and I’m trying to take it day by day. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I’ve done everything I can to at least give myself a chance” explained Kokkinakis.

nick support

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Nick Kyrgios, with whom Kokkinakis won the Australian Open doubles in 2022, also had his say on the ordeal that his friend and partner had to endure in recent months. “People underestimate the amount of work that goes into it, just because we don’t play a full schedule. With injuries like that, there’s no one to ask for advice. It’s something Thanasi has had to live with practically his entire career. Watching him play, we were honestly surprised by our level: it didn’t feel like we’d been away from the pitch for so long at all.”