2006–10: Turned pro, Masters debut, maiden ATP Tour title 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.
2012–13: Historic fourth round at the Australian Open, Olympics & top 50 debuts 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 on 11 June 2012, 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 2013, his ranking had tumbled to No. 430. After making his recovery he reached the third round of the
2013 US Open, his best performance at the Grand Slam starting from the qualifying draw. In September 2013, 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.
2014–15: Wimbledon third round 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 on 21 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.
2019–20: Top 40, Wimbledon fourth round, ATP Tour quarterfinal 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.
2021–23: Three Challenger finals, out of top 250 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.
2024: First Challenger title in 6 & Tour quarters in 4 years, back to top 100 In May 2024, he qualified for the
French Open; this made 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
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 three years (since 17 May 2021), on 23 September 2024. ==Performance timelines==