Thanasi Kokkinakis described his pectoral surgery as the first-ever case in the tennis world and added that he had to "bite the bullet" if he wanted to continue with his career.
For four to five years, Kokkinakis played through a pectoral muscle injury. At the start of the 2025 season, the issue worsened and the former world No. 65 didn't play any tournaments for the rest of 2025 after the Australian Open.
Not only did Kokkinakis require a surgical procedure on his pectoral muscle, but he required a complicated one. During the procedure, the surgeons cut an Achilles tendon graft from a deceased person and used it to reconnect the pectoral to the Australian tennis player's shoulder.
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Now, 11 months after the surgery, the 2022 Adelaide champion is preparing for a comeback.
Kokkinakis: It was a risky surgery and a few surgeons didn't want to do it
The surgery I did, its risky. No tennis player has ever done it. A few surgeons didnt 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. Its pretty daunting. I knew I had to have a crack and why not be the first," the 29-year-old said on TODAY.
In the same interview, Kokkinakis noted that his pectoral muscle injury was so bad that he could have only played one match per week. And because he didn't want to limit himself, he decided to take the risk - see if the complicated surgery would be a success - and if he would be able to play as much as he wanted.
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The 29-year-old Australian also shared that he is targeting to play Brisbane and Adelaide before the Australian Open.
Being out of action for an extended time took a hit on Kokkinakis' ranking, who is ranked at no. 450 in the world ahead of his comeback.
