Retirement usually is supposed to mean that you finally get to kick up your feet and relax with some well-earned down time. But for former world-ranked No. 3 tennis star Juan Martin del Potro, his days are now filled with “daily suffering” due to ongoing knee issues that leave him in constant pain.

The 36-year-old played his last professional match in February 2022 after years of battling to overcome debilitating knee injuries.

Instead of fighting against his rivals on the court, del Potro has dealt with a far more personal opponent - a body that has refused to heal, even after years of surgeries and treatments. Juan Martin's last match was especially important because it highlighted his effort to play through the excruciating pain that had become his constant companion.

Juan Martin del Potro says he wants to “live my life without pain” as he prepares to face Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match to commemorate the end of his tennis career. Speaking in an eleven-minute interview uploaded to Instagram in advance of their match on December 1 at the Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss in Buenos Aires,

The 2009 US Open winner has lived with ‘terrible’ daily pain since concluding his injury-plagued career in 2022

Juan Martin del Potro was one of the top tennis players in the world when he was in the prime of his career. He won the 2009 U.S. Open over Roger Federer and got as high as No. 3 in the world before retiring in 2022 due to injury issues.

Juan Martín del Potro will say a final farewell to tennis with an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic in Buenos Aires this weekend.

Juan Martin del Potro shared some heartbreaking moments from his "never-ending" injury nightmare he has endured in the last five years.