The end of a long career. At almost 37 years old (he will be on April 17), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga announced his retirement from sport, in a video published on Wednesday April 6 on his social networks. Le Manceau will bow out after Roland-Garros, scheduled from May 22 to June 5.
It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to end my professional career at the next tournament of @rolandgarros
It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to stop my career at the next French Openhttps://t.co/yCmP3wch3o– Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@ tsonga7) April 6, 2022
“This is the tournament that best represents everything I have done“, Tsonga said in the video, adding that he wanted “finish on the field“. Twice semi-finalist Porte d’Auteuil (2013 and 2015), the Frenchman played in a Grand Slam final, in Melbourne in 2008, and has one of the greatest records in the history of French tennis.
He won 18 singles titles (including two Masters 1000 at Bercy in 2008 and Toronto in 2014), and four in doubles, in addition to a silver medal at the London Games in 2012 with Michaël Llodra. Rising to 5th place in the world in February 2012, Manceau also won a collective title, finally winning the Davis Cup in 2017 against neighboring Belgium.
A well-considered decision
His body has given him almost no respite in recent years. In addition to an underlying sickle cell disease (genetic disease affecting red blood cells and causing great fatigue), he suffered from knees, vertebrae, the sacroiliac joint which became calcified.
“It took me a long time to make this decision. I’ve been thinking for many years, ‘Why am I hurting myself like this?’ My head tells me ‘you can play all your life’, but my body reminds me that the skills to surpass myself are no longer there”said the current 220th in the ATP rankings.
