The Argentine tennis star Del Potro had to end his career prematurely. Now he shocks with statements about his state of health
Injuries forced former tennis ace Juan Martín Del Potro to end his career. He broke his kneecap twice and ultimately pulled the ripcord. Now he told the Argentine media how he has been since then. The South American admits how much his injuries limit him in his everyday life.
“Today I can only walk. I can’t go on the treadmill, I can’t climb stairs without pain,” says the silver medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games. The Argentinean also feels his long career when driving: “I can’t even drive for a long time at a stretch without taking a break and stretching my legs. That’s my reality. It’s hard and sad.”
On 9 February 2022, Juan Martín Del Potro stood on the court at his home tournament in Buenos Aires with tears in his eyes. Before that, he had to admit defeat to his compatriot Federico Delbonis in the first round. The former US Open winner actually wanted to celebrate his big comeback at the clay court tournament. After the match, Del Potro ended his career plagued by injuries.
Del Potro wants to return to old quality of life
It was a sad end to a great career. Del Potro was one of the few to break the Grand Slam dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In 2009, he achieved probably his greatest success by winning the US Open. In the final, he defeated Roger Federer, who also recently ended his career. For Del Potro, this step was harder than he thought: “I was number three in the world. Then suddenly both knees were broken. And here I am, with nothing!”
For financially, Del Potro is not on sound footing either. Del Potro’s father Daniel, who died in 2021, had sunk $30 million. The 33-year-old hard-court specialist had entrusted him with his finances and accounts for years, believing he could trust his father blindly (read more about the case here).
At least the Argentine wants to put his injury misery behind him. Therefore, he is now seeking help to get good treatment. However, he is also facing setbacks here: “I was recently in Switzerland and saw another doctor there. This treatment was recommended to me by many tennis players, but so far I don’t have a positive result. “
The 34-year-old’s priority now is to improve his quality of life. Still, he can’t quite close the book on tennis: “My priority is quality of life, because I can’t take the pain anymore, but I’m not going to close it I want to keep it open for me.” In his recovery, however, thoughts of the major tennis tournaments play only a secondary role.
