Christian Harrison: Despite eight surgeries, I never gave up on my dream | ATP Tour

my opinion

Christian Harrison: Despite eight surgeries, I never gave up on my dream

The American doubles standout has written a first-person “My Perspective” essay about the obstacles he overcame to compete with the best in the sport.

November 9, 2025

I was in excruciating pain. I can’t sleep. There is nothing I can do.

I was 14 years old and ranked highest among my peers in the world. I have a career in front of me that I have always dreamed of, and today, at 31 years old, I am ready to compete with Evan King in the Nitto ATP Finals for one of the most important championships in our sport.

But when I think about my debut in this event, I reflect on my long struggle to get here

Seventeen years ago, I was dealing with a bone infection in my left femur. All I knew at the time was that my legs hurt. It feels like your legs are cramping a lot, but it’s actually the bones that hurt.

It first appeared when I was seven or eight years old. This happened exactly when I was 14, and within four weeks the infection doubled in size.

They misdiagnosed it a few times, so figuring out it was a bone infection was difficult and a whole process in itself. Once the pain started we knew something was wrong and it was almost a relief to learn that I had a bone infection.

If a bone infection gets into the buttocks, it can become serious. Before the advent of modern medicine, whenever a leg felt painful, they would amputate it. Medicine has advanced a lot, but that’s the pain it usually causes. Luckily they have better ways to treat it now and I consider myself very lucky at the time. I was able to receive good care.

Nick Bollettieri arranged for us to go to the Mayo Clinic so that I could go with my family for treatment. We eventually fixed the problem with surgery and I recovered successfully – it was just a matter of time.

But this is just the beginning. When I was 19, I tore my labrum in my hip. I ended up having multiple surgeries. I had two hip surgeries, a shoulder surgery, a wrist surgery, and then two adductor surgeries in one year.

These kept me out for nearly three years. I had ongoing issues with having so many surgeries and over the next few years I missed another year and a half here and another year there.

In those moments, the most important thing is to find ways to stay happy and positive. I kept thinking that things could always get worse. It was obviously tough, but I never lost motivation. I always find a way to cheer myself up. I want to move on, you tell yourself there is a way.

My brother Ryan is still playing and he’s very successful, so that helps. Once he reaches No. 40 in the world in singles and No. 16 in doubles, I will remain interested in watching him because I want to be with him. I have always respected Ryan and was proud of him. This keeps me motivated and committed to the sport.

The hardest part isn’t when I’m not playing, it’s when I start playing again. It takes a while to live up to the standards you expect of yourself. But I always knew I would never lose the joy of playing games.

I didn’t play tennis for almost nine years, starting when I was 15. But I ended up getting to a pretty high level. I climbed into the top 200 in the PIF ATP Rankings and reached the semifinals of the Delray Beach ATP Tour as a 2021 qualifier.

I qualified for the Grand Slam main draw for the first time in 2016 in 2022, qualified again at Wimbledon two years later, and finally returned to the Grand Slam main draw in 2022 SW19.

In the first round against Jay Clark, I injured my right foot pretty badly. I was two sets ahead and he took a bathroom break, which gave me plenty of time to think.

I have had an ongoing problem standing up and not being able to put my weight on my feet. I had to wrap it up and get something to wear through it. I was able to win the race but had to quit early in the second round.

Christian Harrison at Wimbledon 2022. ” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/11/09/23/07/harrison-wimbledon-2022-2025.jpg”>
^{Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images}

Turns out I had a chip in my heel. I cried after winning the first match because I knew I might need a long break and I had already thought that if there was another match I would start playing doubles. After one of the best moments of my career, I had to sit back and do nothing. That’s when I decided to change my focus.

I’m still young, I still believe I can come back, and I definitely want to come back. I like playing tennis very much. I get a lot of satisfaction from hitting the ball and always have. This is why the likes of Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka are still playing. They don’t have to, but they love tennis. That’s how I feel.

I started playing doubles full-time last season and now, Evan and I are competing in the Nitto ATP Finals with the best players in the world. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and others are all here.

Being in this situation makes me grateful. Playing big games in stadiums like Inalpi Arena is a lot of fun. It gets you up early and on the days when you’re tired, you have to fight hard so you can feel good so you can play so you can love the game. So here you are. It’s a great reminder that everything you do is worth it for your own reasons.

I don’t want to give up and accept that an injury or surgery will be the reason I stop doing something.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m grateful to be here and I’m doing my best to play football for as long as possible.