Jerzy Janowicz has been involved with another spat with the Polish Tennis Federation, so will his latest war heal over time?
The latest public spat between Janowicz and the PZT concerns the Pole’s ongoing knee problems as he claims he got the wrong doctor’s assessment before Poland’s World Group Play-Off with Slovakia.
In a tie they won 3-2 to make the World Group for the first time ever in 2015, Janowicz claimed that the Polish Federation doctors cleared him to play even though he had a bad knee.
Since that tie Janowicz has never fully recovered and claims that the PZT are to blame for his current issues, “My career was in ruins just after the Davis Cup match with Slovakia in 2015. Then I had a knee problem,” Janowicz told sport.pl.
“When I said about him, the physiotherapist and the medical team said I had my knee bent and gave me a green light to play. singles, which I played with the Slovaks, the knee was completely destroyed. I came back to my city to the doctor and it turned out that I have torn patellar frenum at a length of 1.8 cm.”
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist also stated that they have not contacted him on any updates since the injury and there is some regret about the situation, “At this level, such a mistake should not take place,” Janowicz explained.
“I’m sure I have some regrets about it. It also hurts that I was later omitted and completely forgotten. Since I have not played, no telephone contact has been made to me.”
The Polish Federation Respond
After a couple of days, the Polish Tennis Federation responded in a long Facebook claiming that Janowicz’s claims have no merit to them but wished the former world number 14 well in his recovery. Here is what the statement said:
“The doctor of the Davis Cup representation during the match with Slovakia was Hubert Krysztofiak – director of the Central Sports Medicine Center and chairman of the Medical Committee of the Polish Olympic Committee. He was the head of the Medical Mission during the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014. The physiotherapist of the Polish team was Krzysztof Guzowski – a long time personal physiotherapist Agnieszka Radwańska. It is untrue to accuse outstanding experts of an incorrect diagnosis because no diagnosis has taken place. Jerzy Janowicz came to the grouping of the team with a ready diagnosis and recommendations from his orthopaedist at the time.
He made a conscious decision to participate in the grouping and provided the doctor with recommendations from an orthopaedist. On the part of the medical staff, the recommendations were filled one hundred percent. The player felt not only knee pain. He also reported a problem with the shoulder and elbow. Thanks to the work of the physiotherapist, he was able to perform in front of the Polish audience, what he cared about and for which he was rewarded, also financially. After playing matches, he did not report any pain. Despite this, the team of staff after finishing competition with Slovakia recommended Jerzy Janowicz to perform additional imaging tests to rule out a serious injury.
“Jerzy Janowicz had a conversation with the Head of PZT Training, Rafał Chrzanowski. In the interview, he deprecates an extremely valuable contract for PZT with a serious partner who has already helped our tennis players many times. Chrzanowski explained to Jerzy Janowicz that the PZT agreement with the Rehasport clinic does not include the procedure he wants to use, while the Polish Tennis Association will try to ensure that the clinic treats the player as a priority and proposes preferential terms. Chrzanowski and PZT chairman Mirosław Skrzypczyński contacted the Rehab Sport clinic. Thanks to help from PZT, Jerzy Janowicz was able to use the services of the best specialists on very good terms.
“Representatives of the Polish Tennis Association have repeatedly contacted Jerzy Janowicz. Both PZT president Mirosław Skrzypczyński and the head of training Rafał Chrzanowski talked to him, as well as the captain of the Polish national team in the Davis Cup Radosław Szymanik. The Polish Tennis Association wishes the athlete a quick recovery and better memory.”
It seems that the Polish Federation are very confident that they offered Janowicz the right medical treatment despite the Pole complaining on a number of occasions about the Polish Federation’s lack of help and contact.
Since then the Pole has responded claiming that the head of the Polish Federation has ‘amnesia’ and will return with more fight when he comes back.
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Analysis
This war of words doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon as Janowicz continues his rehab and comeback to Tennis as he looks set for a return in July. The problem between him and the Polish Federation has been going on for years and so the relationship looks damaged.
Although his return to the Davis Cup looks non-existent, it is clear that the PZT wants Janowicz to continue doing well and return with the greatest power. After two surgeries it looks like Janowicz isn’t happy with the original diagnosis and seems to blame them for the pain caused.
Even though there is a saying ‘Wounds heal over time,’ I don’t think that will be the case with Janowicz as he will look to prove a point when he returns to Tennis.
