Mikhail Kukushkin

He turned pro in 2006. Before 2008, he played for his country of birth, Russia.

In 2009, he came through qualifying to reach the main draw of a Masters Series 1000 tournament for the first time at the Miami Masters. He beat Tommy Haas in the first round, but lost to Dmitry Tursunov in the second round.

In September 2010, during the Davis Cup play-offs, he notably beat Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka. His good form continued, later winning his only ATP World Tour title, as he beat world number 10 player Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the St. Petersburg Open 6–3, 7–6.

In January 2012, Kukushkin became the first player from Kazakhstan to reach the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, after defeating Guillermo García-López, Viktor Troicki and Gaël Monfils.

Later that season, he reached a then career-high singles ranking of World No. 49, just after the quarterfinals at Nice and the second round at the 2012 French Open.

At the 2012 Olympics, he lost in the first round of the men's singles to Gilles Simon. By the end of 2012 he suffered from a bad hip injury and had to go for surgery twice.

By August his ranking had tumbled to No. 430. After making his recovery he reached the third round of the 2013 US Open, his best performance in the American Grand Slam, starting from the qualifying draw.

In September he found good form again, winning two Challenger Tournaments in Turkey: Izmir and Istanbul. He then reached his second ATP World Tour final in Moscow, at the Kremlin Cup, beating in the semifinals World No. 22 and defending champion Andreas Seppi.

In the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, he reached the third round where he lost in four sets to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal 7–6^(7–4), 1–6, 1–6, 1–6. As a result of his run he reached a new career high of No. 48 in July 2014. At the 2014 Kremlin Cup he defeated Fabio Fognini and Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Marin Čilić. At the 2014 Swiss Indoors, he won over world No. 4 Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round. At the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters he defeated Kevin Anderson to reach the third round, where he fell to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in three sets. At the 2015 US Open, Kukushkin defeated 17th seed Grigor Dimitrov in five sets to reach the third round.

Kukushkin started his 2019 season at the Australian Open. He lost in the first round to 28th seed, world No. 31, and eventual semifinalist, Lucas Pouille.

After the Australian Open, Kukushkin represented Kazakhstan during the Davis Cup tie against Portugal. He won both of his matches beating Pedro Sousa and João Sousa. In the end, Kazakhstan won the tie over Portugal 3–1 to advance to the Davis Cup Finals. At the Sofia Open, he lost in the second round to seventh seed Gaël Monfils. In Rotterdam, he was defeated in the second round by Damir Džumhur. As a result, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 39 on 25 February 2019.

At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships Kukushin reached the fourth round for the first time at this Grand Slam and for the second time in his career at this level.

Kukushkin started his 2020 season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He lost in the second round to second seed, world No. 23, and eventual champion, Andrey Rublev. At the 2020 Australian Open, he was defeated in the first round by Australian wildcard, Marc Polmans, in five sets.

Getting past qualifying at the 2020 Rotterdam Open, Kukushkin lost in the first round to Gilles Simon. Last year finalist at the 2020 Open 13 Provence, he was defeated in the first round by Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Due to not defending his finalist points from last year, his ranking fell from 69 to 89. In Dubai, he lost in the first round to seventh seed and world No. 17, Karen Khachanov. Representing Kazakhstan during the 2020 Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands, he lost his match to Robin Haase. In the end, Kazakhstan won the tie over the Netherlands 3–1 to advance to the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid. The ATP tour canceled tournaments from March through July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the ATP resumed tournament play in August, Kukushkin competed at the 2020 Western & Southern Open. He lost in the first round of qualifying to Cameron Norrie. At the US Open, he knocked out 13th seed and world No. 19, Cristian Garín, in the second round in five sets. He was defeated in the third round by Jordan Thompson.

After the US Open, Kukushkin played at the 2020 Italian Open. Here, he fell in the final round of qualifying to Dominik Koepfer. At the French Open, he upset 14th seed, world No. 15, and 2011 quarterfinalist, Fabio Fognini, in the first round. He lost in the second round to Spanish qualifier Pedro Martínez.

At the 2020 St. Petersburg Open, Kukushkin lost in the first round to Miomir Kecmanović. He played his final tournament of the 2020 season at the first edition of the Astana Open. He beat top seed and world No. 28, Benoît Paire, in the second round. He was defeated in the quarterfinals by qualifier Emil Ruusuvuori.

Kukushkin ended the 2020 season ranked No. 89.

Kukushkin started his 2021 season at the Murray River Open. He lost in the second round to top seed and world No. 18, Stan Wawrinka. At the 2021 Australian Open, he was defeated in the first round by third seed and last year finalist, Dominic Thiem.

As the top seed at the 2021 Nur-Sultan Challenger, Kukushkin lost in the first round to eventual champion Mackenzie McDonald. Seeded third at the Nur-Sultan Challenger II, he was beaten in the first round by Frederico Ferreira Silva.

Kukushkin started his 2022 season at the Traralgon International. Seeded eighth, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to fourth seed and eventual champion, Tomáš Macháč. Getting past qualifying at the Australian Open, he was defeated in the first round by Tommy Paul. At the 2022 Open Sud de France, Kukushkin lost in the final round of qualifying to Pierre-Hugues Herbert. In Cherbourg, he was defeated in the second round by eventual finalist Constant Lestienne. Making it past the qualifying rounds at the 2022 Open 13 Provence, he lost in the first round to Pierre-Hugues Herbert. At the Teréga Open Pau–Pyrénées, he was defeated in the second round by Manuel Guinard. Representing Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup tie against Norway, he lost to Casper Ruud. In the end, Kazakhstan won the tie over Norway 3–1 to advance to the Davis Cup Finals. Getting past qualifying in Indian Wells, he lost in the first round to Tommy Paul. Playing as a qualifier at the 2022 Arizona Classic, a tournament where he reached the final when it was last held in 2019, he was defeated in the first round by Richard Gasquet. Getting past qualifying in Miami, he got his first ATP win of the season by beating Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round. He lost in the second round to 11th seed, world No. 13, and Indian Wells Champion, Taylor Fritz.

Starting his clay court season at the 2022 Serbia Open where he received a wildcard, Kukushkin lost in the first round to Aljaž Bedene. In Munich, he fell in the first round of qualifying to Thiago Monteiro. He started his grass court season at the 2022 Surbiton Trophy. He lost in the first round to British wildcard Paul Jubb. In Nottingham, he reached the quarterfinals where he was defeated by third seed and eventual finalist, Jordan Thompson. At the 2022 Ilkley Trophy, he retired from his first-round match against Fernando Verdasco due to injury. Making it past qualifying for Wimbledon, he lost in the first round to 29th seed and world No. 34, Jenson Brooksby.

In August 2022, Mikhail Kukushkin won his first match at the Challenger in Chicago as an alternate where he defeated the American Govind Nanda. In October, he received a wildcard for his home tournament, the 2022 Astana Open. In November, he reached the Challenger final in Andria where he lost to Leandro Riedi.

He finished the 2022 season ranked No. 223 on 21 November 2022, his lowest ranking in 15 years.

Kukushkin started his 2023 season at the Canberra International. He lost in the first round of qualifying to Australian Tristan Schoolkate. At the Australian Open, he fell in the second round of qualifying to Yosuke Watanuki. At the Concepción Challenger, Kukushkin lost in the first round to sixth seed Hugo Dellien. In Tenerife, he was defeated in the first round by Alessandro Giannessi.

In March 2023, he played at the Challenger Città di Lugano. He lost in the first round to fifth seed Liam Broady. At the Challenger Biel/Bienne, he was eliminated in the second round by third seed Norbert Gombos. At the Play In Challenger, he lost in the first round to French qualifier Kenny de Schepper. In September 2023, he received a wildcard for his home tournament, the 2023 Astana Open.

Kukushkin ended the 2023 season ranked No. 264.

In May 2024, he qualified for the 2024 French Open making his 11th appearance at this Major.

Kukushkin broke a six-year title drought on the ATP Challenger Tour early in the first quarter of the season, capturing titles in Manama and Tenerife. At the 2024 Hangzhou Open Kukushin reached his first ATP Tour quarterfinal in four years (since Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in 2020). As a result he returned to the top 100 in the singles rankings after more than 3 years (since 17 May 2021), on 23 September 2024.