Juan Martin del Potro: ‘I was No.3, and now I’m left with nothing’

Former world no. 3 and the 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro played his last match at home in Buenos Aires in February. The beloved Argentine lost to his compatriot Federico Delbonis in the Argentina Open first round, experiencing an emotional retirement in front of his family, friends and fans. Juan Martin has been dealing with a severe knee injury since October 2018, undergoing four surgeries but failing to recover and play competitive tennis again. The Argentine decided to farewell in front of his partisan crowd in Buenos Aires, enjoying a tennis match like never before and turning a new chapter of his life. Still, del Potro can not deal with the fact that he can not play competitive tennis, struggling and finding himself in “no man’s land.” Del Potro had a fantastic run in 2018, lifting his first Masters 1000 title, reaching the US Open final and becoming world. no 3.

A knee injury halted his progress in Shanghai before experiencing an identical one at Queen’s 2019 that ruined his career. Eager to overcome injuries one more time, del Potro gave his best to recover and get back on the Tour, undergoing those four surgeries but still feeling sharp pain that forced him to retire from tennis seven months ago. Juan Martin leaves the door open for a possible comeback in the future if his condition suddenly improves, but that match should be his career-ending one. Born in 1988, Juan Martin had a breakthrough run in 2008, winning four titles and finishing the season inside the top-8 and with the ATP Finals berth!

Juan Martin del Potro played his last match in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine claimed his first and only Major crown at the following year’s US Open, beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in back-to-back encounters to embrace tennis glory at such a young age. Dealing with wrist issues, del Potro could not follow that pace in the coming years. He missed a couple of seasons and lost all the ranking points to start from the bottom. The Argentine embraced two notable seasons in 2017 and 2018, playing without problems and achieving his potential for the last time ahead of those severe knee injuries that ended his career.

“I can not accept a life without tennis psychologically. I did not have a gradual transition to the after, and I was not ready. I was No. 3 in the world, then suddenly I broke my knees, and here I’m with nothing,” Juan Martin del Potro said.