Monday 15 June 2015 18:23, UK
Juan Martin del Potro has revealed he is to undergo surgery on his injured left wrist for a third time.
I’d rather take the time off that’s needed to try to recover myself as a human being and leave the tennis player aside for a while.
The 2009 US Open winner has been ranked as high as No 4 in the world but has struggled with wrist problems for the last three years and his ranking has plummeted to 578.
Del Potro eventually had surgery to help alleviate the problem in 2014 and was forced to have another minor operation earlier this year after suffering pain and discomfort on his return to action at the Apia International Sydney.
The Argentine won his first two matches at the tournament before being knocked out by Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarter-finals.
But after continuing to suffer pain and discomfort he pulled out of the Australian Open before making an unsuccessful return to action at the Miami Open in March, his last appearance on the ATP circuit.
That has led to his decision to undergo further medical treatment, having sought the opinion of a number of medical experts.
“The pain in my wrist wouldn’t go away, I felt uneasy and wasn’t able to train pain-free,” the 26-year-old said in a video posted on his official twitter feed.
“After playing in Miami, my sensations were horrible. I told myself I didn’t want to fight against tennis, I didn’t want to hate the sport.
“I’d rather take the time off that’s needed to try to recover myself as a human being and leave the tennis player aside for a while.”
Catch all the action from the ATP Halle 500 event in Switzerland. Coverage continues on Sky Sports 3 throughout the week.
