Del Potro’s ordeal with injuries: “I feel like my knee got the better of me”

One of the greatest victims of injuries in the history of tennis is undoubtedly Juan Martín del Potro, a player who still has an enviable career for many. His record includes 22 ATP titles, including his victory at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells in 2018 and, above all, his memorable victory at the US Open in 2009.

The Argentine has not played any official match since 2022, where he lost the only match he played that season against his compatriot Federico Delbonis at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires. ‘Delpo’, 36, will retire on December 1 in an exhibition match titled ‘The Last Challenge’ in Buenos Aires against Novak Djokovic, one of his great rivals and friends.

For the man who became the third best tennis player on the circuit in 2018, injuries have accompanied him during the last years of his career, causing him suffering on and off the court, as he explained in a video that he published on his Instagram account. Instagram. One of the topics discussed was what happened to him after his last time on the court in ATP competition.

“When I played the last game with Delbonis, the next day I took a plane to Switzerland and had another knee operation. That was my fifth surgery. From then on I never made my surgeries public again because in the press conference prior to my match with Federico I said that it was possibly my last match. There I found a little peace and ended something that constantly happened to me, which was: “Delpo, when are you playing again? “When do I see you again at a tournament?” I couldn’t take it anymore because of the pain in my legs. “I thought I had to do this in a low profile, in secret and, if it works, I’ll make an announcement that I’m really coming back,” explained the Argentine.

The drama for the Tandil native did not stop then. “I was there for about two months locked up in a town near Basel. They operated on me, there were rehabilitations, but it didn’t work. After two and a half months they told me that there was another little thing left, that we had to operate again. Sixth operation. Then I left for the United States and I continued rehabilitating. Between surgeries I tried treatments, I must have had more than 100 injections in my leg, hip and back. This is how I have been since that day with Federico until today. to tennis, this is no longer the case, I really have no more hope of playing again because my body doesn’t allow it, ‘Delpo’ confessed.

The 2009 US Open champion specified when his first surgical intervention was. “When I had the first operation, the doctor told me that in three months I would be able to play again, in June 2019. I had been noticed in the lathes in Stockholm, Basel and Paris because the doctor told me that I was doing well with the times to play. After that first surgery, to this day I was never able to climb a staircase without pain again. It hurts me many times to sleep, when I turn on my side, or when I wake up because I get punctures that are very ugly. It has been like an endless nightmare, and every day I continue to insist on looking for solutions and alternatives, but I can’t find them. “It all started in that first surgery… Every time I think about it, it generates a lot of bad emotion, it makes me very angry, very helpless, but I can’t change it.”

Furthermore, Del Potro is forced to take medication. “I wake up and take between 6 and 8 pills, including a gastric protector, an anti-inflammatory, an analgesic and another for anxiety. Lose weight? But the medication makes me gain weight. Now I don’t eat sugar and I don’t eat flour, but what does that have to do with my knee? If I weighed 95 kg and it hurt to climb the stairs, said the silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The Argentine also emphasized the emotional suffering. “One thing is the stones that may appear along the way, such as injuries, which for an athlete is the most complicated thing, but another thing is the emotional pain. I felt very powerful and very strong in facing those stones that appeared to me and that I always beat them within reason… I thought I was strong, but, at the end of the day, I realize that I don’t know if I am that strong. With the knee thing I feel like he beat me, even though I had surgery 8 times,” said the winner of Indian Wells in 2018.

The man from Tandil claims that they have recommended that he get a knee prosthesis. “They tell me that the problem is psychological, but it can’t be. I don’t know why I’m involved in this; sometimes I can’t stand it anymore. It’s terrible and I don’t know when it’s going to end, because now I have another big fight with the doctor who tells me: ‘Put it on and stop fucking around.’ I often say: “Well, okay, what does the prosthesis guarantee me?” They say that I will have quality of life. Okay, perfect, that’s what I’m looking for. I’m no longer looking to run or play tennis with my friends, but after Another doctor comes and tells you: ‘Don’t pay attention to him, you’re too young for a prosthesis, wait until you’re 50,’ confessed the bronze medal winner at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Argentine thanks Djokovic for his presence and hopes to say goodbye in the best possible way. “I’ve started my diet again, I’ve been losing weight, I started training because I want to get to this match with Novak as best as possible. It is an event to say goodbye, there is no turning back. The final touch is given by Djokovic, who was very generous in accepting it and coming. Beyond my personal moment, I want us, together with the people, to give him a lot of love, so that he takes away the best memories of Argentina. If I could at least have some peace in my leg for a few hours, giving something back on a tennis court would be very nice. “To be able to give back to them from within and together with Novak all that love and affection, so that they have good memories of that night,” Del Potro concluded.

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