In simple words, Thanasi Kokkinakis’s career (97th) could be described as a roller coaster of emotions and situations that reflect what tennis can truly deliver to those who want to live from it.
With its highest peak in the ranking in mid-2015 when it was 69th in the world at just 18 years old., the Aussie seemed to have it all, until injuries sent him into endless decline. In a chat with atptour.com, the current tennis player affirmed the facts: “The magic of this sport is that you can be a week away from your sports career changing completely, but it is also different from all the others because it cannot relax you. In any other discipline, winning a title allows you to relax for a while and enjoy it, but not in tennis because you can lose a lot of ground.”
Shoulder surgery at the height of his career, broken knee after beating Roger Federer at the 2018 Monte Carlo Masters 1000, another shoulder injury US Open 2019 and a mononucleosis in early 2020 were some of the ordeals that led him to the darkest part of his tennis career.
“I have been able to verify that the most important thing in this sport is the mental aspect. Obviously you have to have talent and a work ethic, but if you are mentally strong you can overcome many things.“, and so did the native of Adelaide.
After overcoming all these barriers that his own body put up, he managed to move forward with conviction and being in one of the best moments of his career. At the end of 2021, he had important victories at the Challenger level, which allowed him to break into the top 200 in the world. Already in 2022 he had a movie start: He won his first ATP title (250 Adelaide) and the Australian Open in doubles with his compatriot, Nick Kyrgios.
“I have shown myself what I am capable of, and now it is time to work very hard to find a way to have continuity at the highest level, and not just play well for one week.“, commented a demanding Thanasi Kokkinakis.
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