I received a donor's tendon graft": Kokkinakis recounts his career's most audacious operation
After an unprecedented surgery, a risky graft, and years of suffering, the Australian finally reveals the truth. His goal? To return in 2026, pain-free, for one last chance.
He's one of those faces tennis doesn't forget. Thanasi Kokkinakis, the Australian prodigy, vanished after his heroic defeat at the 2025 Australian Open. Five intense sets against Jack Draper, a battle he relishes. Then, nothing. Radio silence. Off the radar. But it wasn't a break. It was a descent into hell.
"I played for five years with a torn muscle"
In a rare and moving testimony given to an Australian podcast, Kokkinakis revealed the extent of what he endured: unbearable chronic pain, an ignored diagnosis, and a surgery never before performed on a professional player.
"I played with a pec problem for four or five years. It swelled after every intense match. If I continued, I would have to retire."
Instead of slowly fading away, the player took a colossal risk: a unique intervention where surgeons grafted a deceased donor's Achilles tendon to reconnect a torn pectoral to his shoulder.
An unprecedented surgery in the world of tennis
"No tennis player had undergone this surgery. I had no model, no reference. It was a gamble, perhaps the last one."
Thanasi Kokkinakis never had a linear career. Between flashes of brilliance, unfulfilled promises, and repeated injuries, he has always been a "unique" player. But what he's revealed today exceeds anything we imagined.
"Half of my pectoral was removed. There was so much scar tissue that I couldn't play."
2026 or nothing?
At only 29 years old, Kokkinakis still hopes for a return. His goal: the Australian tour in January 2026, one year after his last official match.
"I'm starting to play again, without pain. It's a feeling I had almost never known. But if I can't come back for 2026, it will be very hard to accept.
