BUENOS AIRES — The image of Juan Martín del Potro, the gentle giant of Argentine tennis, breaking down in tears on the clay of his hometown tournament in 2022 remains one of the sport's most poignant recent moments. It was a final, heartbreaking farewell from a player whose career was defined by a brutal clash between sublime talent and devastating injury. Now, years after that emotional goodbye, del Potro has offered a stark and painful glimpse into his daily reality, revealing the extent of the physical toll that forces him to rely on medication just to function, let alone dream of a comeback.
In a recent and deeply candid interview with the La Nación newspaper, the 2009 US Open champion and former world No. 3 laid bare the struggles of his post-tennis life. The central conflict is his right knee, which has undergone four surgeries but remains a source of constant, debilitating pain. Del Potro confessed that he requires a cocktail of anti-inflammatories and painkillers simply to get through the day, a reality that has extinguished any lingering hope of a professional return.
"I take tablets, I get injections, and if one day I don't take them, the pain is unbearable," del Potro stated. "I can't live like this." This simple, devastating admission underscores the grim day-to-day existence of an athlete whose body has been broken by the sport he loved. The man who once unleashed a thunderous forehand that struck fear into Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic now measures his victories in moments of manageable discomfort.
A Career Forged in Steel and Shattered by Knees
Del Potro's career trajectory is a tale of what might have been. Bursting onto the scene as a towering 20-year-old, he achieved the unthinkable in 2009 by defeating Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back to win the US Open, shattering the duopoly of the "Big Three" and announcing himself as tennis's next superstar. His power was prodigious, but his wrist soon became a critical vulnerability. A series of operations on his left wrist in 2010 and 2014, and another on his right wrist in 2015, robbed him of years in his prime and required a complete reconstruction of his two-handed backhand into a sliced one-hander.
Yet, his resilience became legendary. Against all odds, he fought back to reach the pinnacle of the sport again, climbing to a career-high world No. 3 in 2018 and reaching the finals of the US Open that year, losing to Novak Djokovic. He also led Argentina to its first Davis Cup title in 2016, becoming a national hero. However, during that 2018 Shanghai Masters, disaster struck again. He fractured his right kneecap. This injury, far more sinister than the wrist woes, would ultimately prove career-ending.
The subsequent years were a torturous cycle of surgery, rehabilitation, brief comebacks, and further breakdowns. He attempted comebacks in 2019 and 2022, but each match seemed to exact a terrible price. The knee, structurally compromised, could no longer withstand the forces demanded by elite tennis. His final professional match was that first-round loss to Federico Delbonis in Buenos Aires in February 2022, where he sobbed uncontrollably, embraced by a weeping crowd that understood they were witnessing the end of an era.
The Daily Grind of Pain Management
In his interview, del Potro detailed the exhaustive and unglamorous routine that now constitutes his life. The dream of lifting trophies has been replaced by the pragmatic goal of achieving basic mobility. "The knee is very damaged," he explained. "There is osteoarthritis, the cartilage is gone, and the bone is exposed." This medical description translates to bone grinding on bone with every step, a condition that is degenerative and profoundly painful.
His current treatment regimen is a full-time job in itself, involving a combination of pharmaceutical and therapeutic interventions just to maintain a baseline. The physical and psychological weight of this constant battle is immense. He is, in essence, managing a chronic disability at the age of 35. The list of his daily and ongoing challenges includes:
- Pharmacological Dependence: A strict schedule of anti-inflammatory pills and painkilling injections to dull the constant ache.
- Intensive Physiotherapy: Daily sessions focused not on building tennis-specific strength, but on preserving basic range of motion and muscle activation around the shattered joint.
- Severe Activity Limitation: The high-impact activities of normal life—running, jumping, even prolonged walking—are off the table. His athletic physique has inevitably changed.
- Psychological Toll: Coming to terms with a life defined by pain and the loss of a central identity as a professional athlete.
"I Closed That Chapter of My Life"
Perhaps the most definitive statement from del Potro was his closure on any notion of a comeback. For years, fans and pundits held out hope, inspired by his previous miraculous returns. But the man himself has finally accepted the medical reality. "I closed that chapter of my life," he stated unequivocally. "I gave myself the opportunity to try again, to do the treatments, but my body can't take it anymore."
This acceptance is not resignation, but a form of courage. It is the decision to stop fighting a battle that cannot be won and to focus his formidable willpower on building a new life. He speaks of finding happiness in simpler things, in friendships, family, and his business ventures. Yet, the shadow of what was lost is always present. He watches tennis, he says, but it is a bittersweet experience, a reminder of the arena he can no longer enter.
The tennis world has reacted with an outpouring of sympathy and respect. Fellow players, who witnessed firsthand the brutal power and gentle demeanor of "Delpo," understand the magnitude of his sacrifice. His story serves as a sobering counterpoint to the glamour of the tour, a reminder of the physical price extracted by the highest level of competition. He is not the first athlete to be forced into retirement by injury, but the rawness of his account—"I can't live like this"—resonates with terrifying clarity.
A Legacy Beyond the Trophy Case
While his trophy cabinet holds one Grand Slam and a Davis Cup, Juan Martín del Potro's legacy is cemented by something more profound: his humanity and resilience. He is remembered not just for his wins, but for his grace in defeat, his warm interactions with fans, and his unwavering sportsmanship. In an era of intense rivalries, he was universally beloved. His career, though truncated, provided some of the most electrifying and emotional moments of the past two decades.
Today, his fight continues, but the arena has changed. It is a private, daily struggle against pain. His candid revelation is not a cry for pity, but perhaps a necessary step in his new journey—an acknowledgment of the truth that allows him to move forward. As he navigates this next phase, the hope of the tennis world is no longer for a winning forehand, but for his finding a sustainable peace and quality of life away from the court. The gentle giant's greatest victory may yet be finding a way to live without the pills and the injections, to reclaim a life not defined by the sport that made him famous, but ultimately broke his body.