Juan Martin del Potro, the former number three player in the tennis world, has been suffering from pain for several years.
27.11. 14:41•Updated 27.11. 14:42
Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro revealed in a touching way how the load caused by elite sports can affect daily life after a playing career.
Del Potro, who has suffered from several serious injuries in his career, talked about the pains he experiences even in everyday chores in a video he published on social media earlier this week. The Argentinian said that he takes six or seven different medicines every day and that he feels pain when, for example, climbing stairs and driving a car.
– My daily life is not what I would like it to be. I can’t play soccer, I can’t play padel. It’s terrible,” del Potro said in the video, according to the Guardian.
– There are good things and bad things in my life, but for the most part I have to pretend that everything is fine. However, I often feel terrible.
Del Potro, 36, who won the US Open in 2009, played his last professional tournament in February 2022 in Argentina, when he hinted that his career might be over. At the time, Del Potro had a tournament break of almost three years, as he broke his knee in the Queen’s race in the summer of 2019. The problems started after the knee surgery.
– Since that moment, I haven’t been able to climb the stairs without feeling pain. I feel pain when I drive and when I go to sleep. This has been a never ending nightmare.
Despite the suffering, Del Potro is scheduled to play a farewell match in Buenos Aires in December, where he will face the Serbian great Novak Djokovic.