The Argentine veteran Juan Martin del Porto retired earlier this year after a devastating knee injury cut short his encouraging career.
The 34-year-old played his last match at home in Buenos Aires in February. He lost to fellow Argentine Federico Delbonis in the first round of the Argentina Open in what turned out to be an emotional affair in front of his friends and family.
The former world No. 3 recently revealed in an interview that he is struggling to come to terms with the fact that professional tennis is no longer a part of his life.
“I can’t psychologically accept a life without tennis,” the 34-year-old Argentine said in a recent interview. “I did not have a gradual transition to the after, I did not prepare, I have no idea what the other athletes did to live this process peacefully.
He added: “I was No. 3 in the world, then suddenly I broke my knees and here I am, with nothing.”
Juan Martin del Porto won 439 matches and lost 174 with a win percentage of 71.4 en route to bagging 22 singles titles. He won the 2009 US Open and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 on 13 August 2018.
He also won a bronze medal in the singles competition at the 2012 London Olympics and bettered his result at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics by winning a silver medal.
Fans’ reactions
Tennis fans voiced their messages of support on Reddit after reading the emotional interview from Juan Martin del Porto.
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