PARIS – The images and the news don’t lie: Juan Martín Del Potro is not having a good time. Just days after a group of Chilean burglars broke into his home in Argentina to steal, among other things, some of the trophies he has won during his career, he was seen taking part in an exhibition match in Chisinau, Moldova, with obvious difficulty moving around.
Wearing a black knee brace on his right knee, looking somewhat overweight and with severely limited mobility, Del Potro was one of the guest stars at the build-up to the Chisinau ATP Challenger taking place this week, an event used to mark the opening of the first National Tennis Centre in the small Eastern European country.
“It’s fantastic for the children. There aren’t many countries that have such good facilities. I wish them every success and it’s an honour for me to be here,” said Del Potro at a press conference alongside Romanian tennis player Simona Halep and Moldovan players Radu Albot and Lia Belibova.
Halep and Albot, the best Moldovan player in history, defeated Del Potro and Belibova 6-4, 2-6 and 10-7.
“I organised the whole process of inviting Del Potro and Halep through IMG,” Serghei Visneveschii, head of communications for the Modavia Open, told CLAY with pride.
At one point during the exhibition, the Argentine declared himself exhausted and handed over his spot to Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, a tennis fan. Del Potro and Munteanu then played together for a few minutes.
Playing exhibitions, even in venues far removed from the major tennis stages, is a way for Del Potro to secure his financial future, following a few years that were particularly challenging in that regard.
Juan Martín Del Potro jugó una exhibición este sábado en la inauguración del challenger de Chisinau, Moldavia.
Las imágenes hablan de las dificultades que tuvo y tiene el argentino tras el retiro del tenis.
Video: IG @baiatucuracheta pic.twitter.com/Ndupz3195i— Clay (@_claymagazine) May 25, 2026
The 37-year-old Argentine retired in February 2022 following a successful career – US Open and Davis Cup champion, world number three and double Olympic medallist – but one that fell short of its full potential: in his prime, Del Potro decisively defeated the greatest players in history – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – but injuries prevented him from going further.
Nine operations, five of them on his wrist – four on his right – marked his career. The fracture of his right kneecap following a fall at the Shanghai tournament in 2018 was an injury from which he never fully recovered, as was evident in Chisinau, where he moved little and with extreme caution to avoid slipping on the court.
A few days earlier, and 13,000 kilometres away, in Tandil, the city in Argentina where he was born and lives, Del Potro was the victim of a burglary: a gang of Chilean thieves, specialising in stealing jewellery, medals and watches from American sportsmen, broke into his home.
According to ‘Clarín’, the thieves ‘stole dollars, jewellery, a gold wedding ring belonging to the athlete’s mother, rackets and trophies’.
The gang consisted of five members – four Chileans and one Argentine – and two of them were arrested in Buenos Aires after the car they were driving was identified following a traffic fine.
The two detainees, 23-year-old Chileans, were subject to an Interpol red notice and an arrest warrant issued by the courts in their home country.
Ignacio Zuñiga Cortes and Bastián Jiménez Freraut led a gang that, between 2024 and 2025, raided various homes in the US state of Florida. Among those targeted were American football players such as Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, NBA basketball player Bobby Portis, and Travis Kelce, also an American football player and boyfriend of singer Taylor Swift.
The burglars took ‘selfies’ with the stolen items, but their crime spree, which peaked in Florida, came to an end following the burglary at Del Potro’s home in the quiet town of Tandil.
