“I visualized being No. 1”: The dream injuries stole from Juan Martín del Potro

Juan Martin del Potro remains one of the greatest "what ifs" in tennis history—a player who could have given so much more to the sport had injuries not derailed his path. The Argentine himself held high expectations for what he was achieving, despite the multitude of physical problems he faced and the long stretches he was forced to spend away from the courts.

The South American star, who retired in 2022, won his first major title back at the 2009 US Open, defeating Roger Federer in the final—snapping the Swiss maestro’s streak of five consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows. Del Potro was barely 20 years old and looked like the new force poised to challenge the tennis world's dominance in the coming years, being two years younger than Nadal (No. 3) and one year younger than Murray (No. 2) and Djokovic (No. 4).

“You win a Grand Slam and things change a lot. Even regarding contracts, sometimes you just have to go and participate. The clothing sponsor calls, the racket sponsor, the ATP... It still excites me," he said to Sportscenter when he was remembering the 2009 US Open final. "Sometimes I watch that last game and say, 'I hope it ends the same way.' That game was dramatic because I was up 5-2, and if I didn't break there, I had to serve. To have to close out the match, the final, Federer, the first Grand Slam, on your serve... it would have been a pressure I don't know if was manageable. So I put all my energy there; it was that moment or nothing. And well, it finally happened.”

However, injuries began to complicate his career just months later. He missed a large part of the 2010 season after undergoing surgery, returning in 2011 without achieving major results. From then on, the Argentine alternated between years of brilliance and irregularity, though he enjoyed a strong period when he reached the Top 5 in 2013—for the first time in four years.

The physical toll of maintaining that elite level required desperate measures. “I had to get injections many times. Quite a few. Many in the knee, in the wrist I had three surgeries... but maybe because I made some wrong decisions. Sport drives you to such pressure and to achieve things that you can't stop. I didn't want to stop because I had to be Top 5 or Top 3. I didn't want to lose my ranking, so I got injections. It was bread for today, hunger for tomorrow.”

Unfortunately for Del Potro, a knee injury once again left him out of competition, this time leading to another surgery and keeping him sidelined for nearly two years. “The knee was another story. After my first surgery, I didn't heal well, and with the second one, they tried to repair it. It was a sequence of events that ended up being what it was; it took me off the court, I had to retire, and so on. Injuries in an athlete are something we live with.”

It took a long time to see him as a protagonist in big tournaments again. By 2017 and 2018, he experienced a final resurgence in his career: in those years, he reached eight finals and won four titles, including his first Masters 1000 at Indian Wells, once again defeating Roger Federer in the final.

Shortly after, the Argentine reached the US Open final—his second appearance in a major final and nine years after his title at the same venue—but he fell to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Del Potro left the tournament as World No. 3 and with good sensations for the upcoming seasons. At 29 years old, he believed he could finally reach the summit of the rankings, but his body would once again present the bill.

“When I arrived at the 2018 US Open final, I was No. 3 in the world and I was wrecked, but I still went to the Asian tour. I ended up going because I visualized being No. 1 after the 2019 Australian Open. I had a real mathematical chance that if I played well in those tournaments, I could be No. 1. That’s when it ends up happening: I fall, I break my knee, I have to stop, and then the whole nightmare of the leg begins.”

That injury marked the definitive turning point in his pursuit of the top spot. After undergoing multiple surgeries and attempting several comebacks over the following years, Del Potro eventually bid farewell to professional tennis in February 2022 at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. He concluded his career with 22 ATP titles, a Davis Cup victory, two Olympic medals, and a career-high ranking of World No. 3.