Del Potro to have surgery for 3rd time on wrist

Juan Martin del Potro. (J Pat Carter/AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro will have surgery for the third time on his left wrist.

Del Potro says Monday on Twitter that he will have surgery in the United States on Thursday on a chronic injury that is threatening his once-promising career.

Del Potro, who won the 2009 U.S. Open, has seen his ATP ranking drop to 578. He says he has decided "to put my body again in the operating room."

The 26-year-old Argentine has also had surgery on his right wrist.

Del Potro played early this season in a tournament in Sydney, a warmup for the Australian Open, and reached the quarterfinals. However, he withdrew from the Australian Open before his first match.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.