Hubert Hurkacz was in a state of turmoil in 2025, and eventually pulled the plug on his season due to a knee injury. He went under the knife in July of last year, undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He has been plagued by injuries since he injured his meniscus at Wimbledon in 2024, after diving for a ball.
But the 28-year-old is finally coming out the other side, and he put his high-octane disruptive game on display in his 2026 season opener on Monday in Sydney, hammering his way past world No.3 Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 6-4.
83rd-ranked Hurkacz cracked 21 aces and won 35 of 41 points behind his first serve. He faced a single break point in the match, and improved to 2-3 lifetime against Zverev.
He staked Poland to a 1-0 lead over Germany, with Iga Swiatek set to battle Eva Lys in women’s singles next.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been competing. Seven months I’ve been going through difficult times with the team and it was very challenging,” Hurkacz said on court after his win. “They were all supporting me, they were all behind me. We went through definitely a long period of time not competing and not knowing when we [would] be able to be back on court again. I was just trying to cherish and enjoy every moment here on the court today.”
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