Grigor Dimitrov went through one of the most painful moments of his career last year.
The Bulgarian veteran was putting in a top-level performance against Jannik Sinner on Wimbledon's Centre Court in the round of 16, but was hit by an unfortunate pectoral muscle injury when leading by two sets to nil.
At that precise moment, the former world number 3 realized that it was a very serious problem and that he would have to stay away from the professional tour for a long time. The player from Haskovo had to use all his mental strength to get out of this delicate situation, receiving help from both his team and his family.
'Grisha' was only able to play one final match before the end of the 2025 season, not wanting to force the timing to avoid relapses that could have been detrimental to his future at a high level.
Grisha is ready for Acapulco
Although he is no longer in his 'prime', Dimitrov feels he can still give something to tennis and it is for this reason that he has hired two former players as his new coaches. The reference is to Xavier Malisse and David Nalbandian, who will help him shine in the last phase of his career.
Grigor's 2026 has not started in the best possible way, considering that he has won only one of the three matches played this season so far.
In a long interview with 'Tennis TV' ahead of his debut in Acapulco, where he triumphed twelve years ago, the former Top 5 confessed that the pectoral injury forced him to change some things: “Well, my injury did. I think that it was, in a way, inevitable. I had to change things out whether I liked it or not.
So, it was also more of the work that I had to do for myself, not so much from the physical aspect, but more from a mental point of view, because I’ve always done things in a certain way, in the amount of hours I could have put in to gain fitness and everything.”
