‘Nobody knew this, but the day after I played my last match … I took a flight to Switzerland and I had my fifth knee surgery.’
Retirement usually is supposed to mean that you finally get to kick up your feet and relax with some well-earned down time.
But for former world-ranked No. 3 tennis star Juan Martin del Potro, his days are now filled with “daily suffering” due to ongoing knee issues that leave him in constant pain.
The 2009 U.S. Open champion revealed the heartbreaking toll that injuries have taken on him since retiring from the game.
On Tuesday, he posted an interview to his Instagram account that detailed what his life has been like since hanging up his racket in February 2022 – including jetting to Switzerland for surgery immediately after his final match.
“Nobody knew this, but the day after I played my last match against (Federico) Delbonis, I took a flight to Switzerland and I had my fifth knee surgery,” Del Potro said in the video.
“Since that, I never made my surgeries public again as I found some peace in the press conference before that match against Federico, telling it would probably be my last match. People stopped asking me constantly when I would come back and play again. I did all this process secretly and if it worked I would announce that I would come back.
“I was in Switzerland for two months in a village close to Basel trying to rehabilitate and it didn’t work. After two-and-a-half months, I had my sixth surgery. I went back to the USA. More rehab, over 100 injections everywhere. Infiltrations … daily suffering. It’s been my life since that match vs. Federico.
“When I had my first surgery in June (2019), the doctor told me I would play in three months. I even signed in for three indoor tournaments at the end of the year.
“After that first surgery until today, I’ve never been able to go up a set of stairs without pain. It hurts many times when I try to sleep, when I turn on my side, or when I wake up because I get these sharp pains. It’s like a never-ending nightmare that I’m trying daily to find solutions and alternatives for, but I can’t find them.”
The Argentine star suffered a fractured right kneecap during the 2018 Shanghai Masters and, while he was able to make a successful return, he injured his knee again during the 2019 Queen’s Club Championships after slipping on the grass.
“It all started with that first surgery … every time I think about it, it stirs up so much bad emotion, it makes me really angry, very frustrated, but I can’t change it. My daily life isn’t what I would like it to be. I can’t play (soccer), I can’t play padel (a similar racket sport). It’s terrible. They took me the chance to do what I loved the most, which was to play tennis,” he said.
“It’s very tough. There are moments where I have no more strength. I’m not indestructible. I have good things, bad things, but most of the times I have to fake it and put a good face, but many times I feel terrible.”
Del Potro detailed his arduous daily medical routine and the changes that he has been forced to make in his life.
“Every day when I wake up, I have to take six or seven pills. Gastric protectors, anti-inflammatories, one for anxiety. Then the pills made me gain weight so they told me to stop eating some things,” he said.
“One thing are the (obstacles) that can appear in your way, like the injuries that can affect all athletes, but the other thing is the emotional pain. I felt so powerful when facing those obstacles, but after all I understood that I’m not that strong. That knee beat me.
The two-time Olympic medallist said that he has now undergone eight surgeries “all around the world,” and that some doctors have suggested using a prosthesis to improve his quality of life.
“I had eight surgeries, with doctors all around the world. Every time they gave me the anesthetic, I hoped that the problem would be solved and after two to three months, I was always calling the doctors to tell them that the surgery didn’t work,” he said.
“There are doctors that tell me that I can put a prosthesis so I can regain some life quality. But others tell me that I’m too young for a prosthesis. They tell me to wait until I’m 50.
“But since I was 31, I can’t run, I can’t climb stairs, can’t kick a ball, never played tennis again. I need to wait 15 years more of this? It’s terrible. I hope this will finish someday, because I want to live my life without pain.”
Despite his ongoing suffering, Del Potro is now preparing to take on friend and former rival Novak Djokovic in a farewell exhibition match on Dec. 1.
“I started my diet, I’m losing weight, I’m training. I want to arrive at that match in the best shape possible. It’s a match to say goodbye,” he said.
“Djokovic was very generous in accepting my invitation. I want to give him all the love possible. If at least for one, two or three hours I can be at peace and happy on a tennis court, it will be beautiful.”