“I have a dead person's Achilles tendon in my arm”

Rebel Thanasi Kokkinakis returned to the court at ATP Brisbane 2026 where, alongside Nick Kyrgios, he defeated Ebden and Ram in the doubles. It was a surprising result given the unusual circumstances of Kokkinakis, who had a 2025 marked by the uncertainty of an injury that was difficult for many doctors to decipher.

“I have a dead person's Achilles tendon in my arm”

“What I've been through in the last 12 months is crazy. I talked to many surgeons, many doctors, even Rafa's doctor, and I wasn't really sure what was going on. It was crazy. No physical therapist or doctor I consulted felt comfortable or sure of the right path to take. I said I don't want to continue the same way. Before, I would play a match and maybe get a big win, but my arm would be destroyed for the next couple of rounds. I thought I don't care if I don't play anymore, I won't do it anymore, because it was like a small sample of what I could achieve, and then I just had to retireKokkinakis said.

“I basically cut out half of my pectoral. I had scar tissue that I played with for about five years. I saw a lot of surgeons who didn't want to operate on me. They thought it was risky. I've never had surgery before in tennis. I have an achilles tendon allograft, which is the Achilles tendon from a deceased person, in my arm to attach my pectoral to my shoulder. It's very difficult to recover from this process because you have no one to turn to you speak, no one has done this before.

A lot of people get ACL tears or Achilles tendon tears, which are brutal and terrible injuries, but in those cases, a lot of people have been through it, so you know who to talk to and what to do,” Kokkinakis revealed in a press conference.

Thanasi Kokkinakis, 29 years old and number 450 ATP, photo: Guliver/gettyimages

What Nick Kyrgios said about his friend Kokkinakis

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios were doubles champions at the 2022 Australian Open.

“I'm assessing how things are going. There have been days where I feel good and days where I think there's no chance I'll ever play again. It's been a very difficult journey this year and I'm trying to take it day by day. There are many uncertainties, but I have been training hard to get in shape and be able to play a doubles match. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I did my best to at least give myself a chance. My arm is a little tired. I'm just trying and hoping there's something left in me.“

“People underestimate the amount of real work in tennis; just because we don't play a full schedule, they underestimate the effort we really put in. You're more focused on stress management, more physio, but you don't really know how to train or prepare. Like he said, you don't have anyone to turn to for advice with certain injuries.”

“It's something he's had to deal with basically his whole career and watching him play, we were really surprised at our level, to be honest. It didn't feel like we were out of the game … it's been almost a year for Thanasi. We went through the qualifiers and faced two guys who are probably some of the best doubles players still around.”