Hurkacz's 'Iron Man' effort to return from meniscus surgery in three weeks

One of the most difficult moments to watch at Wimbledon was the end of Hubert Hurkacz’s second-round match against Arthur Fils. People say a picture is worth a thousand words and that was the case looking at the pain of the Polish star’s face.

The 27-year-old dove for a ball, giving his absolute maximum effort as he always does. When Hurkacz tried to get up from the awkward position he was in, he tore the meniscus in his right knee and retired late in the fourth set.

A video that Hurkacz later posted showed the eight-time ATP Tour titlist sitting on a bench next to ball kids in the immediate aftermath sporting a look of concern, with a hand on his knee.

“Right after I knew something happened because it was painful and we needed to figure out how bad it was and just get as much information [as we could],” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “It was difficult because after the scan I didn't know when I was going to be back, if I was going to be playing this year or if I was going to reach my normal level. So it was definitely a challenging time.”

Hurkacz spoke to several doctors, almost all of whom said he would be out of competition until next year. Yet after undergoing surgery and working through an intensive rehab process with his physio Kuba and fitness coach Przemek, Hurkacz is ready to compete this week at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal.

When Hurkacz hurt himself, coach Craig Boynton was not entirely sure of the extent of the injury.

“Initially, when it happened, I thought he was cramping. He was talking in Polish to the physio, and the physio said to me, ‘He needs to stop’. I was clueless as to what was going on,” Boynton said of the Montreal fourth seed. “As things unfolded, he got the MRI, found out it was the meniscus, and then going forward, what was the best plan of action?

“He handled all that in Poland with part of the team there, the physical team. He had the surgery done, and to say the boys worked diligently would be an understatement, to get him to where he is right now. He worked so hard, Iron Man hard. It was crazy how much he did just to get back here in three to four weeks, to get to the point where we're actually competing.”

Hurkacz underwent surgery on 15 July. The next day he began rehab and within a week he was back on court doing movement work. On Monday, three weeks later, he was walking around Parc Jarry in Montreal with his trademark smile.

“It definitely makes you appreciate what you're doing, not having a chance or a possibility to do it for a while,” Hurkacz said. “I knew I couldn't really move on the court, so the Olympics was unfortunately out of the window. I was dreaming of playing there for the whole year, but I just knew that it just was not going to be possible. The wounds were still not healed. I just couldn't be going there. It was too much of a risk and also I couldn't move on the court, so it was just not going to work.”

Before undergoing surgery and throughout his rehab, Hurkacz has been in touch with medical professionals and other athletes from both inside and outside of tennis. One of them was Novak Djokovic, who tore his meniscus at Roland Garros, then made the Wimbledon final and claimed the Olympic singles gold medal in Paris.

“Definitely just really inspiring what he did, especially winning the gold medal,” Hurkacz said. “I also texted Novak. He was really, really supportive and helpful as well and it just was a different situation, it was a difficult situation trying to make the decision. At the end I knew I needed to have surgery.”

What was challenging for Hurkacz beyond the rehab itself was not knowing when he would be fit to compete. Now that he is ready for matches, his coach, Boynton, explained that is an evolving process to tinker with.

“You see what he can do, you see what maybe he is more limited in and you just deploy the weapons and the assets in a different mindset compared to if everything is 100 per cent,” Boynton said. “That's where the practice gets involved. That's where it is talking about where he is feeling that he can make improvements and where he thinks he wants to kind of stay away from, and that is just the management.”

Boynton added: “I'm happy for him that he can do the things that he loves, and we're here. Now we just have to be smart about how we go forward and just see. The matches will dictate what needs work in every way.”

Hurkacz is known for his smile, and that has been the case more than ever since his arrival in Montreal. He has appreciated every moment on site, from seeing the fans to practising.

“It felt really long. It felt like so many things happened since the time I was on the court previously,” Hurkacz said. “There are so many things we went through as a team and many difficult decisions. It just really makes you appreciate what you're doing daily and sometimes you might get lost because you're just constantly pursuing to get better, to win matches, to try to win the tournaments and win the Grand Slams. You don't really appreciate the moment at some point and now I really had a moment to pause and reflect.”