“At the end of the tunnel, you see the light”: Massú opens up on Hurkacz’s comeback journey

Hubert Hurkacz started the year in the best possible way at the United Cup — a tournament in which Poland have enjoyed several strong campaigns, always led by Hubi and Iga Swiatek, reaching the semi-finals in 2023 and then finishing as runners-up in both 2024 and 2025.

This year, for the fourth consecutive time, they are among the final four, with Hurkacz once again playing a key role — despite arriving at the tournament ranked just World No. 75 and returning after seven months away from competition, his last appearance having come back in June 2025 at the Libéma Open. Shortly afterwards, the Pole underwent surgery and was sidelined for the rest of the season, aiming to recover from a long-standing injury that had significantly troubled him.

It was a complicated year, marked by major changes to his team following the departure of long-time coach Craig Boynton at the end of 2024, and the arrival of Nicolás Massú in 2025 — the coach who guided Dominic Thiem to his first major title at the US Open 2020. The Chilean coach was brought in to help Hurkacz take the next step and become a Grand Slam contender, but injuries kept him away from top-level competition.

“Enjoy the competition again,” Massu told Hurkacz eafter his return to the courts in Perth. “Look back at where you've been, and all that you passed already in the past seven months. You deserve to be here. Appreciate that. Enjoy the moment. Go step by step, not thinking too much about the results.”

Hurkacz’s opening match was perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, as he defeated World No. 3 Alexander Zverev with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 scoreline, firing 21 aces. It was no fluke, as he followed it up against the Netherlands, beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 7-6, once again tallying 21 aces.

“I'm really, really happy because we had difficult times. And when you are out of competition seven months — it is a lot of time — you need to be patient,” Nicolas Massu said to ATP Tour. “You need to be strong. It's not too easy because sometimes you want to just start to think about the tournaments. You are missing weeks and then there is a slow recovery.”

Hurkacz had to overcome a knee injury to return to the courts, and it always takes time for players to readjust and regain strong results. For the Pole, his debut was enough to secure his 20th career top-10 victory, and just the fourth against a top-3 opponent.

“It's not easy to maintain the faith all the time because the days are long, it's a lot of treatment, a lot of recovery,” Massu said. “But at the same time, I'm totally convinced — because I had this in my so many years of Tour, so many years in tennis — that at some point, if you keep strong and you believe and you work hard, you deserve it.”

“It's incredible, the work ethic of Hubi. He follows everything 100 per cent. If he has to do this, he does that and more,” Massu said. “It’s not only on the court, it's outside of the court: how he takes care of the food, of the treatment, all the stretching. So I think that when you work like this, the [positive] things need to come back. You deserve to have these kinds of results.”

Massú, a former World No. 9, knows first-hand what it means to fight injuries, both in his own career and during his work with Thiem — from being a Tour protagonist and Grand Slam threat to ultimately retiring after being unable to return to his top level following injury.

“My experience from my life and from my tennis career is that everything that is strong against you or sometimes it is dark, at the end of the tunnel, you see the light,” the double Olympic gold medalist said. “You need to keep the faith.”

“Everything that we needed to do, we were doing, and we were listening to the right people,” the Chilean coach added. “We were strong in the difficult moments and I think that the whole thing for me, from my point of view, that I wanted, is to see him again on the court competing.”

Hurkacz delivered a solid performance in the quarter-finals against Alex de Minaur, but ultimately fell in three sets (4-6, 6-4, 4-6). Once again, the Pole recorded 19 aces, landed 74% of first serves, and won 75% of those points. However, the home favourite’s ability to capitalise on break opportunities (2/4) proved decisive, while Hurkacz was unable to convert his chances (1/11). While Hurkacz has been flawless on serve throughout the United Cup, Massu believes he has the tools to shine in other areas of the game. "It's a big talent," Massu said. "Also for sure he works a lot. He put a lot of focus there."

"I think that he's a very complete player. I still believe that he can play even on clay the same level as on hard court," the fomer world No. 9 said. " And of course, we need to improve some little details that can bring him again to fight in the top of the top. But the most important is the health, I still believe that if he's healthy, we can achieve good things."

Despite Hurkacz’s quarter-final loss, Iga Swiatek carried the team on her shoulders by defeating Maya Joint, before Poland sealed the tie with a victory in the mixed doubles. Hubi will return to the court this Saturday against Taylor Fritz, in what represents a chance for revenge against the USA after the last two United Cup editions. The 28-year-old will open Saturday’s tie as Poland look to reach a third consecutive final. “I always believe that nothing is impossible if you maintain the work ethic, if you maintain your positive mind,” Massu said. “At some point, you will recover.”