Tennis icon needs tablets and injections to play sport and ‘can’t live like this’ | Tennis | Sport
Juan Martin del Potro has revealed that he’s still living in agony almost four years after playing his last official tennis match. The 2009 US Open champion’s career was scuppered by injuries, but it was a knee issue that forced him to retire. Del Potro injured his knee during the 2018 Shanghai Masters and then made a short-lived comeback a few months later, falling and reinjuring his knee at Queen’s in 2019.
The former world No. 3 did not play again until 2022, when he played a tearful final match at the Argentina Open. Del Potro also faced Novak Djokovic in an exhibition last year to say a proper goodbye to tennis. But the knee is still causing all sorts of problems for the 37-year-old, who can’t play sports without taking tablets and injections, and still has trouble walking up the stairs.
“I don’t do any sports. I don’t run, and I still suffer on the stairs. I lead a pretty passive life because it’s the only way to avoid so much pain. Now, when I get the urge to hit a ball, play padel, or ride a bike, I have to start taking anti-inflammatories or getting injections because I’m in pain. So I just tell them no,” the 22-time title winner told SportsCentre.
For now, Del Potro has had enough of attempting to find solutions for his knee. But he knows he can’t live like this forever – and he’ll eventually continue trying to find the treatment or surgery option that finally allows him to be pain-free.
The former world No. 3 said: “After the match against Djokovic, I truly felt 100 per cent retired. All this year I haven’t spoken to any doctors, except for my personal physician, who has become a friend. I told him I don’t want any more injections, treatments, or even talk of surgery. At least for a while. The idea of trying to play tennis again isn’t even on my mind.
“I can’t live with this my whole life either. Because I’ve been playing sports since I was six or seven years old, I get the urge to do something. Maybe in the next few months I’ll try something again. Some days I think, ‘This nightmare is going to last me forever,’ and it’s torture. Other days I’m a little more optimistic.
“It happens a lot when I have a fun event coming up and I can’t do it because of the pain. That’s when I really get upset, I feel helpless, and I call the doctor to see what we can do. Then I calm down and tell myself it’s not that serious.”
Del Potro’s career might have been derailed by injuries – he also had lengthy layoffs for wrist problems – but the Argentine managed to achieve a lot. In 2009, aged just 20, he beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal back-to-back to win the US Open.
He won an Olympic bronze medal at the London 2012 games and a silver medal at the Rio 2016 games. Del Potro helped Argentina win the Davis Cup in 2016 and won Indian Wells in 2018. He also finished runner-up at the US Open that year, weeks before picking up the career-ending knee injury.
