I went through a full season with a lot of pain," Medvedev explains his struggle with a painful shoulder

In great form at the start of the Washington tournament, Medvedev had no trouble defeating Wu in the second round (6-3, 6-2). Typically strong on hard courts, the Russian hopes to return to top results during this American swing, with his last title dating back to Rome in 2023.

Speaking to *Punto de Break*, the Russian revealed that he has been dealing with constant shoulder pain for nearly two years. While the injury appears to be gradually healing, the former world No. 1 explained just how much of a daily battle it has been:

"To be honest, I went through a full season—or rather, 365 days—with a lot of pain in my shoulder. Now, it’s much better, so I can keep working on it. If I remember correctly, it was from mid-2023 to mid-2024. It was painful most of the time. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It’s not easy because in many training sessions, I wanted to work on my serve, but I didn’t because I was afraid of making it worse.

When it was bad, it also bothered me on my forehand. Plus, it felt like I was lacking energy overall. In the end, you try to push through the pain. I managed to play the 2023 US Open final, which was an incredible run for me, but my shoulder hurt every single day. So, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s definitely better to live without pain, and right now, I don’t have any. So, that’s good.