10 Courageous Comebacks

Tony Roche

Faith In A Faith Healer

Tony Roche has become known as one of the most influential tennis coaches in recent memory, mentoring 2022 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Lleyton Hewitt, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and others. But during his playing days, the Australian was a star in his own right.

The lefty won the Roland Garros singles title in 1966 and claimed three consecutive Wimbledon doubles crowns with countryman John Newcombe from 1968-70. However, elbow issues plagued Roche’s career in the early 1970s. Injections and other treatments didn’t work, nor did operations in 1971 and 1972. When he returned in 1973, the pain was still there.

"That's when it hit me that my career was probably over," Roche said at the time, according to the Washington Post.

That was when Roche, on the advice of friends of Newcombe’s, visited a faith healer in the Philippines. The medical operations he had did not work, but this treatment, in which the faith healer opened his skin without using any tools, did.

Roche went on to win four more tour-level singles titles and seven more doubles trophies, including three majors, and cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, both of which were created in 1973.

Thomas Muster

From Tragedy To Triumph

Thomas Muster’s career was on the rise in early April of 1989. The Austrian had just rallied from two sets down against Yannick Noah for a spot in the Miami Open final and was set to crack the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Then tragedy struck.

A drunk driver hit the front of Muster’s car as he was getting something out of the trunk. The result was a badly injured left knee and surgery back home in Austria. In one moment he was a 21-year-old on the rise. In the next, his livelihood was in jeopardy.

It turned out his best was still to come. Muster worked hard to get back on court, hitting tennis balls from a special chair with his left leg raised in a cast. Six months later, he returned to competitive action, and it did not take long for the Austrian to find his game. In 1990, he was named ATP Comeback Player of the Year and would later soar to World No. 1 in 1996. Muster claimed 39 of his 44 tour-level singles titles after the incident.

“We don’t know what would have happened without the accident, but all I can say now looking back, it’s turned out very well,” Muster told ATP Uncovered. “It’s turned out good, I could continue my career, I’ve achieved my goals, but without the accident, we can say maybe I would have never been No. 1. I could have been dead in Key Biscayne.”

James Blake

Recovering From A Broken Neck, Shingles & More

One day, James Blake and several ATP Tour players held an audience with the Pope and enjoyed a celebration for Giorgio Armani. The next day, the American broke his neck.

Blake and Robby Ginepri had both lost at the 2004 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but they decided to remain in Rome to practise on the clay. Blake chased a drop shot and after his foot got stuck in the clay, he launched into the net post and broke his neck.

After being transferred from one hospital to another, the 26-year-old was adamant he wanted to return home to Connecticut to recover. The good news was that two months after the accident, which could have left him paralysed, he was on his way to a tournament in Newport.

However, it was a devastating moment in Blake’s personal life. His father, Thomas, passed away the weekend before the tournament following a battle with cancer. Soon thereafter, Blake developed shingles. Nothing was going right for the American.

But channeling his father’s mindset and the support of friends and family, Blake refused to dwell on his misfortunes. Despite slipping to No. 210 in April 2005, he soon soared to his greatest heights. Blake reached a career-high World No. 4 in 2006, a year during which he claimed five of his 10 ATP Tour titles. That year, Blake also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he battled to the championship match before losing to Roger Federer.

Juan Martin del Potro

Persevering For A Memorable Moment

Fans will not soon forget the sight of Juan Martin del Potro hanging his bandana on the net at this year’s Argentina Open.

After two and a half years away, during which he underwent four right knee surgeries, the ‘Tower of Tandil’ made his return in Buenos Aires. It was a memorable night in front of his home fans, who sang his name and were simply happy to see him on court. Federico Delbonis defeated his countryman 6-1, 6-3 that evening , but being there was victory enough for Del Potro.

"It was something spectacular and an unforgettable day that I will remember forever as one of the best days of my career,” Del Potro later told ATPTour.com.

Many will remember the Argentine for his monstrous forehand, which helped him win the 2009 US Open aged 21. But he has also consistently persevered, regardless of the hurdle in his way.

Four wrist surgeries hampered the early years of Del Potro’s career, before he clawed his way back time and time again, overcoming them all before later dealing with his knee. Nevertheless, he won his first ATP Masters 1000 event in 2018 in Indian Wells and climbed to a career-high World No. 3 later that year.

Del Potro has not officially announced his retirement. But if his night in Buenos Aires was his last on Tour, it is one he can look back on fondly.

Andy Murray

Metal-Hip Magic

Following the 2019 Australian Open, it seemed that Andy Murray might never play another match. The Scot had already undergone one hip surgery in January 2018 and was facing the prospect of another following a memorable five-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut at Melbourne Park.

“Having an operation like that, there's absolutely no guarantees I'd be able to play again,” Murray said. “I'm fully aware of that. It's a really big operation. There's no guarantees that you can come back from that.”

But following a hip resurfacing surgery — the same operation doubles legend Bob Bryan had recently undergone — later that month, the Scot showed perseverance as inspiring as the play that once took him to World No. 1. Murray, who fell as low as World No. 839 in 2018, began his road back in August at the Western & Southern Open. He made one quarter-final in his first six tournaments back at all levels before arriving in Antwerp.

In Belgium, Murray made one of the most emotional runs of his career, winning three consecutive three-setters — including a win against former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the final — to lift his first ATP Tour singles trophy since Dubai in 2017.

“It means a lot. The past few years have been extremely difficult,” an emotional Murray said.

The Scot was named Comeback Player of the Year in the 2019 ATP Awards and has continued his climb since, returning to the Top 50 in June 2022 for the first time in four years.

Filip Polasek

Five Years Off & Better Than Ever

Filip Polasek retired in 2013 aged 28 following a successful career in which he won 11 ATP Tour titles. The Slovakian had loose discs in his spine that proved problematic, with his leg often throbbing uncontrollably after matches.

Polasek became a coach, but hitting with older teens proved too difficult. In fact, playing other sports like floorball did, too. The only physical activity he was able to do was ski touring with friends. By that point, he was content with life.

That was when doubles legend Mike Bryan spurred Polasek’s comeback. The American was in Slovakia and enjoyed a few casual practices with the local, whom he said was hitting well. Little did Polasek know that moment would lead him back into professional tennis.

After nearly five years away, the 6’4” righty returned to competitive action and soared to his greatest heights, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, cracking the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals and lifting his first Grand Slam trophy at the 2021 Australian Open with Ivan Dodig.

“I always dreamt big. I always dreamt about winning Masters 1000s, maybe even a Slam,” Polasek wrote in an essay for ATPTour.com in 2019. “Fifteen months ago, all of that seemed so incredibly far away. Yet here I am. I’ve learned to never give up on your dreams. I didn’t, and neither should you.”