Juan Martin Del Potro hints at retirement from tennis

The former US Open champion revealed in a press conference about his knee condition is a “nightmare” that doctors haven’t found solutions to and stated his likely retirement in Argentina will be nostalgic. 

In his words,

“Before I start this conference, I would like to send a message. I have spent a lot of time thinking and imagining about this day, and I think this is one of the most difficult messages I will ever deliver. I know that people are expecting me to return to tennis, but this may be more of a farewell than a return”.

“I have strength to go forward, but my knee is becoming a nightmare. I have been trying alternative treatments for a number of years, with different doctors and attempts to fix it. But I have still not found a solution. But I never imagined retiring from tennis without having the chance to say goodbye, and I can’t imagine a better tournament than Buenos Aires to do it.”

“After these weeks we will see what happens with my future, but I am clear that I want to live like a person of 33 years and try to not have pain. It’s a difficult decision, but I wanted to make it clear.”

The former world number three last played a competitive game since June 2019. He faces Federico Delbonis in the first round of the Argentina Open on February 7 and is a wildcard for another south American tournament, the Rio Open. 

Del Potro has marked decent career milestones like winning the US Open title in 2009, defeating Roger Federer, and also losing an Olympic gold medal match to Andy Murray. The Argentine is currently ranked 757 in the ATP rankings.