Sanguinetti Opens Up About His Health: "Professional Sports Are Fatal, Today I Live With a Prosthesis in My Leg"

While sporting achievements are often highlighted, high-level sports can be brutal on physical health. Pushed to their limits, athletes' bodies endure extreme strain for many years.

Davide Sanguinetti, a former player and current coach of Elena Rybakina, has experienced this harsh reality firsthand. Once ranked 42nd in the world and a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 1998, the Italian had to retire in 2008 due to a knee injury.

He opened up in a lengthy interview with *Punto de Break*:

"Throughout my career, I always struggled with physical recovery. Professional sports are fatal—today, I live with a prosthesis in my leg. I suffered a lot, undergoing five surgeries on my left knee. The last one was invasive; I had to get a full replacement, which is why I retired.

I can still play, I can do everything, but I have to be very careful. Anyone who says sports are good for the body is lying. Sports are great, but professional sports are fatal. I know Julián Alonso also has similar issues. And with the hip, for example, there will surely be others, like what happened to Andy Murray."