Juan Martin del Potro is set to undergo surgery on his troublesome left wrist for a third time.

The 2009 US Open champion has been blighted by the problem in recent seasons and has not played since making an attempted comeback at the Miami Open in March.

Del Potro lost in straight sets to Vasek Pospisil in the first round and has since slipped to 578 in the ATP rankings.

"Since my last tournament in Miami my sensations weren't good," he said in a video posted on YouTube. "I felt bad throughout the whole tournament, even though it was great to feel the energy of the competition and to spend a great time with the fans.

"The whole situation made me realise that it wasn't wise to go on in that condition, that I didn't deserve to step onto a tennis court with pain in the wrist again.

"That's why, for the first time since I started to feel pain in 2012 or 2013, this is the first time I'm not practicing tennis nor working out.

"I just find myself fighting mentally and psychologically, not giving up and trying to find solutions to my wrist problem.

"As I still dream about stepping onto a tennis court one day, I'm not choosing those kind of conservative treatments to cure the pain which, at first, was diagnosed as tendinitis but is more serious than that as the tendon is damaged.

"Several doctors, including the one that has treated my wrist all this time, recommend another surgery.

"Even though it's not a nice situation and with all the frustration that it means, even knowing the upcoming weeks will be tough for me, I've decided to commit myself again and undergo surgery, hoping it will be the final solution, hoping I will have my wrist healed for good.

"From then on, I want to be happy, stay healthy and to be content with or without a racket, with no physical issues and hopefully able to do what I like.

"Obviously this wasn't an easy decision to take as this is the third time in the same wrist."