"I saw a lot of surgeons who didn't want to operate on me" - Kokkinakis unearths painful prior 12 months upon his return to the court

Thanasi Kokkinakis has made a return to tennis at the Brisbane International, playing alongside an old friend in Nick Kyrgios. He has given some insight into the painful road to recovery, with the future still very much uncertain.

The Aussie had been suffering with a long-standing pectoral injury, halting his progress in the sport and almost taking it to a standstill. He was willing to do almost everything to get back onto the court, and after a painful journey, he can enjoy a brilliant victory alongside Kyrgios in the doubles against Matthew Eben and Rajeev Ram 5-7, 6-4, 10-8.

In his press conference ahead of his return to action, Kokkinakis opened up on the lengths he has gone to prolong his tennis career and the horrifying situations he has been in over the last year.

"What I've been through these last 12 months has been crazy. I spoke to a lot of surgeons, a lot of doctors, even Rafa's doctor, and I wasn't really sure what was going on," he said in his press conference. "It was crazy. No physiotherapist or doctor I saw seemed comfortable or confident about the right path. I said I didn't want to keep doing the same thing. Before, I'd play a match and maybe get a big win, but my arm would be wrecked for the next two rounds. I thought it didn't matter if I didn't play again, that I wasn't going to do it again, because it was like a small glimpse of what I could do, and then I just had to retire."

He then commented on the precarious position he was in when surgeons would not want to operate on him. "Basically, I cut half my pectoral muscle off. I had hairless 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'd never had surgery in tennis. I have an Achilles tendon allograft, or Achilles tendon from a deceased person, in my arm, trying to attach my pectoral muscle to my shoulder."

This surgery was needed with him wanting to get back playing at his highest intensity with pain. As expected, it is not something easy to get back up from. "It's very difficult to recover from that process because you don't have anyone to talk to since no one has done it. A lot of people tear their ACL and Achilles tendon, which are brutal and terrible injuries, but in that case, a lot of people have been through them, so you know who to talk to and what to do."

It is not a straightforward path back to tennis for Kokkinakis, with him highlighting great uncertainty over what is next for his tennis career.

"I'm assessing how things are going. There have been days when I feel good and others when I think there's no chance I'll ever play again. It's been a very difficult year, and I'm trying to take it one day at a time. There are a lot of unknowns, but I've simply... trained hard to try and get myself into a position to play a doubles match.

He is willing to do anything to get out onto the court, hoping something still remains. "I don't know what my future holds, what it has in store for me, but I've done everything I can to at least give myself a chance. My arm is a bit worn out. I'm just trying, and I hope I still have something left in me."

Him and Kyrgios will return back to action in the doubles event on January 7 where they face the French duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul for a spot in the quarter-finals. Following from this, the 2022 Australian Open doubles champion will continue his return with a trip to the Adelaide International.