ATP Tour

Wolf’s comeback: From unable to wash his own hair & needing help out of bed

It was a car wreck on a tennis court.

J.J. Wolf suffered a freak injury not even 20 minutes into a first-round qualifying match at last year’s Delray Beach Open. Wolf recounts the fall, his feet being “kicked out” from underneath him and his full weight crashing down on his right shoulder. In an instant, he dislocated his shoulder, tore his labrum and broke three bones. As he describes it, it was "more like a car-wreck injury" than anything seen in tennis.

The doctor told Wolf he was done for the year, difficult news to hear in the second month of the season. Wolf underwent surgery and he did not touch a racquet for six months, nor was he able to maintain the elite fitness that has been a hallmark of his game.

“I was allowed to walk on a treadmill for five minutes a day and it would just throb. Your shoulder is still moving around and the screws are still settling,” Wolf told ATPTour.com, speaking at the Tiburon Challenger. "Walking in a sling on a treadmill for five minutes, you can’t stay in shape like that. [It was the] first time I’ve actually been out of shape my whole life. So I had to start from zero when I was up and moving again.”

Wolf’s injury stripped him of the independence many of us take for granted. Even the simplest daily tasks were challenges.

“Not being able to wash your own hair or do anything like that — You sleep on [the shoulder] wrong, you can’t get out of bed. I’d have to have someone lift me out of bed,” said the Ohio native. “You lose everything.”

The 27-year-old is on the comeback trail this season, having competed in half a dozen ATP Challenger tournaments, his home ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and the US Open, where he competed as a wild card and fell to 15th seed Alexander Bublik in a four-set, first-round clash.

Wolf earned a milestone victory at the Vancouver Challenger in August, claiming his biggest title in five years. It was a memorable week for a player who was unranked just six months prior. Wolf’s Vancouver title run capped a six-week surge up the PIF ATP Rankings, during which he skyrocketed 644 spots across that short span. He is now World No. 246.

_{^{J.J. Wolf is crowned champion at the Vancouver Challenger on 2 August. Credit: Odlum Brown VanOpen}}

It has been a long journey for Wolf, who gained a fresh perspective on life during his time away from competition.

“I think that my whole life isn’t tennis,” Wolf said. “I have a lot of other interests and I have great friends and family around me. I think it could have been harder on other players who maybe are very hyperfocused on it, but it’s very easy for me to disassociate. I didn’t watch any tennis. Honestly, I tried not to think about it too much and just control what I can control.”

Wolf explained it remains an “everyday battle” to keep his shoulder healthy after such a serious injury.

Earlier this summer, there was a slight hiccup when he suffered, in the same right shoulder, a SLAP tear (Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior) — an injury at the top of the labrum where the bicep tendon attaches — forcing him out for a month. But overall, Wolf is managing the demands on such a crucial part of his body.

“A lot of the hard part is figuring out how much range, pairing with strength is the perfect combo for tennis. I never had a shoulder problem in my life,” Wolf said. “I have very mobile shoulders, I’ve always had. I have a lot of whip on the ball. So being able to maybe limit that sometimes, but not to a point where I can’t get the action. We’ve figured out hopefully the perfect formula now.”

The former World No. 39 is now eager to see what he can accomplish.

“I want to find my ceiling,” said Wolf, who is not defending any points the rest of the season. “I want to get to a point where I feel like I figured out everything about myself on a tennis court and I can look back and be proud of it.”