Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 27 May 2025 | Matt Trollope

Thanasi Kokkinakis, at age 29, is working through another stint on the sidelines after pectoral reattachment surgery.

The popular Australian star doesn’t exactly know when he’ll be back, but insists he still has glory to chase when he resumes his playing career.

During an interview for this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast, Kokkinakis said it felt unusual being at Melbourne Park during the colder months, but that he was enjoying the change-up.

“I’m sure when I’m ready I’ll be keen to get back into it,” he said.

“It’s weird obviously missing these big events at the moment [like Roland Garros], but it’s something that I’ve done a lot of times in the past, and it’s just part of my journey, I guess. Another setback, but I’ll get there.”

The former world No.65 is enjoying the opportunity to explore more avenues off the court, including commentary as part of the Channel Nine broadcast of Roland Garros in Australia.

Yet Kokkinakis insists he’s “still got time in the sport” and that he continues to evolve more than 10 years on from turning pro.

That means both shorter and longer term goals when he eventually comes back, and not losing sight of the biggest dream of all.

“Oh, Aussie Open. Winning Aussie Open. There would be nothing that trumps that,” he replied immediately when asked about that career dream.

“[Winning AO 2022 with Nick Kyrgios in] doubles is cool, but not quite as cool as winning the singles. Obviously it’s a long way away and you’ve got a lot of great players in the sport, and fingers crossed my arm gets back, and better. We’ll see what happens there. But yeah, winning Aussie Open would be the ultimate goal.

“Smaller term would be to try and win another title. [And] Winning Davis Cup with Australia would be massive; that’s something that we’ve gotten so close with over the years, and I think we’ll just keep knocking on that door.

“I think we’ve got a great captain and some good players at the top leading the way, so who knows? It doesn’t take much.

“That’s the thing I’ve noticed with tennis; it can all look pretty bleak, and then it just takes one sort of big week or result, and you’re back there and all of a sudden people are talking about you as a serious player as opposed to someone that hasn’t filled their potential.”

Kokkinakis’ immense potential was recognised early.

And this was especially the case at the Australian Open, where he reached the boys’ singles final in 2013, won his first Grand Slam main-draw match in 2014 at age 17, then stunned 11th seed Ernests Gulbis in the first round of 2015.

“The Gulbis match was crazy though, because everyone was banging on the sidelines, and it’s the first time I felt like my name kind of got out there,” he said when asked about his strongest AO memories.

“There’s a video on YouTube that AO put up, I think, and it’s me getting mobbed after the match… It’s probably the first and only time I feel like Cristiano Ronaldo, so that was cool (laughter).

“Then just some epic five-set battles I’ve had here; obviously [against Andy] Murray, had a big one there. Winning doubles with Nick. I’ve got too many [memories]. And hopefully I can create a few more.

“To be honest, any time I can go in front of the fans and the crowd and just how much they get behind me and support me, just going on these rowdy courts – like Kia Arena, Showcourt 3, John Cain – they all just go nuts.

“It’s why you play and it’s what keeps me driven to get on my rehab journey and get back there.”

Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe to The Sit-Down in your favourite podcast player.