Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis will be sidelined from the Tour for a few weeks after undergoing an operation that he hopes will solve an ongoing issue.
The world No.84 announced on social media that he has had a procedure done to help address a chronic pectoral injury that hampered him during this year’s Australian Open. Kokkinakis, who has been ranked as high as 65th in the world, lost in the second round of his home Grand Slam to Jack Draper. After that match, he told reporters that his pectoral muscle was giving him “physical and mental torture.”
“I’ve had a pretty bad pec tear there for a while. There’s a lot of scar tissue build-up,” Kokkinakis said last month.
“Essentially, I can’t play back-to-back intense matches no matter how much I train for it and try it. It’s very deflating.”
Kokkinakis also played in the Australian Open doubles draw alongside Nick Kyrgios but the duo retired during the second set of their opening match.
Amid the physical setbacks, the 28-year-old underwent surgery earlier this week. In an Instagram post confirming the news, Kokkinakis did not indicate how long he might be sidelined from the Tour.
“Been struggling for a little while with this,” he said via Instagram.
“Probably my toughest challenge to date. I’ve been trying to find the answers to an ongoing pec injury that I haven’t been able to fix.
“Let’s see how this goes. Thank you for all your ongoing support.”
Kokkinakis has won four ATP Tour titles so far in his career – one in singles and three in doubles. He has earned just over $4.6M in prize money.
There are currently nine Australian men in the top 100 on the ATP Tour and the best-ranked is Alex de Minaur at No.8.
