Juan Martín del Potro decided his body wasn’t ready for a comeback at the U.S. Open.
The 2009 champion wrote Wednesday in a social media post that he wasn’t healthy enough to make the return he coveted.
Del Potro told The Associated Press in April that he wanted to “play a farewell match” in Flushing Meadows this year if his right knee would allow it. The U.S. Tennis Association said at the time it would welcome the popular Argentinian back, but he was not listed among the players who received wild cards into the main draw Wednesday.
Hours later, he revealed that he wasn’t comfortable enough with his health and would continue searching for other solutions.
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Wrist injuries had previously limited the powerful right arm that helped del Potro beat Roger Federer to win the 2009 title. He eventually recovered enough to get back to the final in 2018, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
But then right knee injuries sidelined him from June 2019 until one match in Argentina in February 2022.
