Fans of Juan Martin Del Potro will be delighted to know of his impending return to the ATP World Tour. Del Potro has not officially set the date for his return, but the rumor is that he is expected to play a tournament before the end of February.
Injury Layoff And Road To Recovery
The former world number four has had ongoing injuries and issues with his left wrist for the past few years. His old injury acted up in 2014, where he was forced to withdraw from most of the tournaments as he underwent surgery.
The Argentine started a comeback at the start of 2015 at the Apia International Sydney despite not feeling fully fit. There, he progressed to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runner-up Mikhail Kukushkin. The injury flared up again as he had to withdraw from the Australian Open. Del Potro was left with no other choice as he underwent surgery on his left wrist for a third time.
The Argentine has been on the long road to recovery ever since that procedure. He was seen training regularly, working on his two handed backhand in Buenos Aires this past month. He is expected to play in one of the tournaments either in the United States or possibly South America in the coming weeks. That means Memphis, Delray Beach or Acapulco could be a target in February. If not, his comeback could be delayed to March when the ATP calendar sees two Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. He has also been updating his progress on Twitter in the past few weeks.
Promising Star
Once regarded as one of the up and coming tennis stars in his prime, Del Potro's injuries have sadly seen his career derailed over the last couple of years. He was the first player outside of the "Big Four" to win a Grand Slam when he stunned Roger Federer in sensational style at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Many predicted he could be the one to break the "Big Four" and he came close, earning a career high ranking of number four in January of 2010. Shortly after that, his wrist injuries began. His return would be great for the tennis scene, but only time will tell if he is able to go back to his previous level that saw him go toe-to-toe with the best in the game.