France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hits a return against Australia's Alexei Popyrin during their men's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 21, 2020. (Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP) / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
This is terrible news for tennis. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, has announced his professional retirement. The 36 year old player will retire from the circuit after a goodbye tournament in front of his public at Roland-Garros next May. If you are a fan of the French tennis player, don’t hesitate to bet on live tennis game. It brings a different perspective on the game and the tournaments and allows you to experience the sport even more intensely!
He decided to announce it through a video posted this Wednesday evening on his Instagram account:
“It is with a lot of emotions that I announce today my decision to stop my professional career during the next tournament of Roland Garros. So many incredible moments, joy shared with a public that has given me so much… hoping for one last thrill with you!”
“My ultimate reason is to tell myself that this is the last thrill.”
The former world No. 5 player explains the reasons that led him to make this decision:
“I’ve been hesitating for a long time to make this decision. I think it’s been a few years where there’s a moment in the day where I say to myself, ‘What am I doing? Why am I hurting myself like this, is there a reason I’m putting in all this effort.” That’s my body saying stop, my head telling me that I can play for the rest of my life. My body is reminding me that my movement skills are gone. My ultimate reason is telling myself that this is the last thrill.”
“I won’t be playing in 2024, and I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to stop at Roland. This will be my 15th Roland, so I hope to stay in shape by then and be able to remain who I’ve always been in this tournament. This is the tournament that best represents everything I’ve done. I told myself in my head that I had to stop at a time that I chose, a time when I was able to go out there. I wanted to finish as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the tennis player.”
We can only salute the choice of Jo Wilfried Tsonga, who puts his health above all else, a choice that must have required a lot of courage, because tennis is his reason for living. But sports retirement is not the end of a career, far from it!
18 titles, 1 Davis Cup, a silver medal… Jo’s record of achievements is extensive. Tsonga is the figure of French tennis of the last two decades with Richard Gasquet, Gaël Monfils and Gilles Simon. He will be the first of the French “four musketeers” to retire from the ATP circuit.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga discovered professional tennis in 2004. He has 18 singles titles, including two Masters 1000 titles (at Paris and Toronto), a final at the 2008 Australian Open, an Olympic silver medal, a Davis Cup victory and a Masters final. He will have spent 261 weeks in the top 10.
Unfortunately, Tsonga has played his entire career alongside the three greatest players in history Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The Frenchman has beaten them all when they were at the top of the rankings (Federer in Montreal in 2009, Nadal at Queen’s in 2011 and Djokovic in Toronto in 2014).
During his career, he has beaten the Serb and the Swiss six times, the Spaniard four times. He has especially thrilled the hearts of the French by winning 28 of his 39 Davis Cup and French Open matches with mythical victories over Roger Federer in 2013 or Kei Nishikori in 2015.