Behind The Racquet • Shares A Behind The Scenes With Tennis 10sBalls • ATP’s Peter Polansky

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.

 

“It was almost exactly twelve years ago today. It was April 3rd, 2007. I was in Mexico for Davis Cup playing for my home country of Canada. I was there as a hitting partner but was great to be asked to go regardless. It was only a day into the trip when this horrible incident took place. I had this night terror where I thought someone was in my room chasing me. I tried to get out through the window to jump. I broke through the glass and fell three stories. After getting up I had severe cuts on my legs and back. This happened around 2 a.m, so it wasn’t easy to get anyone’s attention. Luckily after searching for help, there was one person still awake, who helped me get to a hospital. The conditions of the hospital weren’t great and the initial reaction from the hospital staff was terrifying. They suggested to just amputate my leg. They saw how deep and long the cuts were and I had been bleeding out for some time now. The damage to the tissue was really bad too. After sitting in the hospital for two, three hours, my legs turned completely purple. I was fortunate enough to get some of my Davis Cup team members and some staff from the event to get down to the hospital. They made sure the doctors knew I was a professional tennis player who needed his legs. I waited another four hours, in agony, for the plastic surgeon to meet me after his previous surgery. The whole operation was around 550 stitches in my legs and back. He said it was a success and I would eventually recover, but it would take me six months to walk again. After leaving Mexico I flew to Toronto and miraculously healed very quickly. I was young and had this incredible motivation and deep down I just expected myself to heal. I was hitting only two months after, and played my first tournament three months after the operation. The doctors had no idea how it was possible. After doing well enough at the junior event in Canada, I received a special exempt into the US Open. I somehow went on to final the Jr. US Open, only four months after the surgery.” -Peter Polansky

 

****

 

You can follow Peter Polansky on the links below:

Facebook | Peter Polansky

Twitter | @PPolansky

Instagram | @petepolansky

 

You can check out more Behind The Racquet stories on the link below:

Facebook | Behind The Racquet

Twitter | @BehindTRacquet

Instagram | @behindtheracquet

 

 

Check out the great new logo for Behind The Racquet!