Juan Ignacio Londero he is happy. It shows, even behind that relaxed expression that he always has off the court. He is calm and focused on a new reconstruction process, after experiencing a nightmare due to an injury to his right shoulder, which did not allow him to compete regularly for two and a half seasons and forced him to undergo surgery in November of last year. A nightmare that was difficult for him to leave behind and that, although it started as a physical fight, extended so much over time that it also ended up becoming a mental battle. He Topito He never gave up and finally won the war. Two weeks ago he returned to play, after a complete inactivity of more than a year. And although he did it with very good feelings, he knows that he has a long way to go to “get back to being.”
“Today I’m fine, finishing recovering my shoulder. I’m not one hundred percent yet, but it’s allowing me to play tournaments. I think I will achieve full recovery by competing. A month ago I wasn’t even serving and in the last two weeks I played seven games. Emotionally, I’m also very good,” he summarized in a chat with Clarion in it Buenos Aires Challengerwhich is played this week in the Racket Club.
Londero has been walking a familiar path. After a dream 2019 – champion shouted in Córdobaa tournament he arrived at without wins ATPreached the eighth of Roland Garrosplayed the final of Enough and was 50th in the ranking -, the hard months of the pandemic and the lack of results after the reactivation of the circuit made it enter a hole in 2021. He suffered depressionhe felt that he lacked “essence” and lost his way. He managed to get up, but when he was beginning to find himself on the court, in 2022 his body put another stone in his way.
“At first the most difficult thing was not knowing what was happening to my shoulder. I spent from March 2022 to November 2023 trying to recover it. I tried all kinds of therapies. I consulted with chiropractors and kinesiologists, with Thais, Chinese and Japanese. I stuck needles in all parts of my body, needles with electricity, I infiltrated myself twice. Just before the operation, I had a clearer imaging study that showed that the supraspinatus muscle was torn. And there the topic of surgery arose. The doctor who operated on me in Rome told me it was that or not play anymore,” he said.
And he continued: “That process was very long. These injuries generally recover in four or five months; I was there for two and a half years. And it became a mental issue. The thing is that if we start to analyze deeply, everything is always in our heads. During the pandemic, the topic of mental health exploded. Many athletes began to talk more about it and I think it was because many of us suffered with that topic. I think it may also be one of the factors of the injuries. Depression is very deep emotionally and in the body. And I don’t rule out that my injury may have appeared as a result of that. I’m not saying that was it, but if I have to make a list of things that could have influenced it, I write it down.”
-What was the key to winning that battle?
-A great mental work. First, think more about the day to day and not so much about the future. Because when you think about the future, anxieties appear, which still existed, but which you can control better. The work I have been doing with my psychologist for more than ten years was important, as was meditation and yoga, which helped me keep my head more organized. Since 2017 I had been practicing yoga and meditation intermittently. And this last year and a half, I started doing it three times a week, like another workout. I’m very glad I did it because I started to notice changes when I started doing it regularly. I discovered a new work tool.
-Where did you see the change?
-With yoga, I began to notice my physique more, to have a notion and record of parts of my body that I didn’t know existed; beyond the physical gain it gave me when opening my legs and shoulders. And meditation helps me with breathing, energy, all that kind of stuff. I feel that it served me, it helped me a lot and today it is part of my life.
Londero acknowledged that he thought about throwing in the towel several times. “My hair started to fall out, I started to notice changes in myself, in many aspects, especially right before the operation. And at several moments I said enough, that’s enough, I don’t want to go through this anymore,” he acknowledged.
-What made you not give up?
-The environment weighs a lot. My work team always pushed me forward. My family, my friends and my girlfriend with their constant support. And the connection I have with my dog, that animal love… And the day to day life kept me motivated. It wasn’t easy, especially in the final stretch it was difficult to get up every day and be motivated. But I tried to add from everywhere and everywhere grabbed me.
-Knowing that you have the means to reach the top 50, is it an extra motivation or does it generate anxiety to speed up the process?
-I’m just getting back and I’m not anxious. But I don’t rule out that it appears later. Today it gives me peace of mind to know that I already achieved it at the time and I can achieve it again. It’s going day by day, tournament by tournament, game by game. Knowing that I have about five or six years left in my career and that is a long time, but also short. Because the years go by very quickly. And I think I can face this process with a different maturity. I am 31 years old and age also helps you with experience, things experienced and memories.
-Do you miss the top 50?
-A lot, because when you start this path in tennis or in any sport, you want to reach the elite. And the elite has very hard things, but also very beautiful. The recognition of the people, being able to play in spectacular stadiums with great rivals, traveling to tournaments that are very nice, seeing spectacular places… It is missed a lot. And I still miss him because I still have a long process to get back.
-Beyond the fact that the results have already started to appear, did you enjoy tennis again?
-It is difficult to enjoy on the court. This is a very stressful sport. If you even see the best, like Nadal o Djokovicand you can tell they are tense. And I still get stressed when I play, I have the same fears as when I was 50, 90, 130 or 200 in the world. But I’m trying to enjoy myself off the court. To return to the competition, to come to a club and share with players, to return to the routines I had when I trained, when I warmed up. I am enjoying it more, taking it much more calmly.
“It’s difficult to enjoy on the court. But today I’m trying to enjoy it off the court again,” Londero said at the Challenger in Buenos Aires. Photo Press Challenger of Buenos Aires-How would you like to close 2024?
-Deep down I would love to be able to get a lot of points before the end of the year or win a tournament. But the reality is that I would like to finish it healthy and competing. And to be able to start next year in the same way.
The evolution of recent weeks
The adventure did not last long. Juan Ignacio Londero at the Challenger in Buenos Aires. The Cordoban, who entered the tournament thanks to an invitation from the organization, lost 6-4 and 6-4 to the Frenchman Enzo Couacaud213th in the ranking, in the first round. But beyond the fall, having played in Racket was another step on his recovery path.
El Topito spent 367 days without stepping on a court after retiring in the second round of the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Challengeron September 14 of last year. The shoulder problem – which bothered him with different ailments between 2022 (he missed the second semester) and 2023 (he played only six competitions) – kept him inactive for a year. He competed again two weeks ago – on September 15 – in the Cali Challenger in which he passed the qualification, reached the round of 16 and got 10 points that allowed him to appear again in the ranking, at 1085th place.
A few days ago, he reached the quarterfinals in the Antofagastaalso belonging to the second circuit of the ATP, in which he entered as a guest, and achieved 14 more units, which will put him back in the top thousand. In the next update 824° will appear. Without harvest in Buenos Aires, it will seek to continue advancing in Villa Mariaanother challenger that will be played next week and for which he also received a wild card.
On the other hand, in another of the first round matches of the main draw of the Buenos Aires competition, Federico Coria93rd in the world and top favorite, went from less to more and defeated the Ecuadorian 5-7, 6-1 and 6-2 Alvaro Guillén Meza261st in the classification. Besides Juan Bautista Torresanother of the contest’s guests, won 6-2 and 6-4 against Juan Pablo Ficovich in an albiceleste duel.