Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, retired since May 2022: “What I miss the most are the atmospheres”

Jo-Wilfried, how have you spent your days since retiring from Roland-Garros?

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: I’m very busy, the first few months were a bit difficult, you feel a bit empty. I’ve been used to having daily goals, short and long term, and all of a sudden there’s no such thing. All the routine that we have put in place also disappears. Tennis occupied 100% of my time. We lived tennis, we ate tennis, we slept tennis… All of my time was dedicated to that and suddenly, it’s empty. There is nothing left, there are no more atmospheres, white-hot stadiums. It’s true that it was a bit hard the first two months, but now it’s fine. I am well surrounded with my family. Now I feel good, I’m discovering a lot of things, I’m doing a lot of activities like here, at Les Etoiles du Sport, which allow me to exchange and open up my spectrum of knowledge, it’s really great.

What do you miss the most ?

JW. T.: What I miss the most are the atmospheres. I went to Bercy, it had been a long time since I had been there. The only thing where I said to myself that I would like to relive that is really the atmosphere, entering the field with the public, the exchange with the public after a big point. That’s really something that I miss and that I will miss all my life unless I suddenly do another artistic job. The rest, I do without with great pleasure.

Do you continue to train?

JW. T.: Yes I continue, I changed my backhand, now I do one-handed backhands. I still need to perfect my technique but it’s starting to be not bad. I set myself small personal goals. I spend time with young people in my academy, on the pitch. I try to share and pass on my experience, what I have lived throughout these years on the circuit. Otherwise, I really take advantage of my time to do things that I couldn’t do when I was a player.

In what areas do you want to make up time precisely?

JW. T.: First of all, I really want to spend time with my children. Because even though they were traveling with me, I wasn’t always available. Do things like I did this morning with Martin Fourcade where we hit the slopes for three hours. He made me discover the entire chain of the Alps, it was a privileged moment, it was extraordinary. I play padel, I also play again in the football club in my village.

With your academy, you wanted to highlight transmission. How do you see the evolution of this project?

JW. T.: It’s not a gunshot. For me, it was very important not to give back because I don’t really like that term, I don’t feel indebted for things. But really to give what I experienced, to tell and share. I wanted to do that in my sport. It’s a way for me to stay and work for tennis. I will carry out all these projects and bring the maximum of positive to the young people of the academy and to the people who come to play at the club.

Do you see yourself playing a role at the federal level?

JW. T.: It is something that is possible. I was a tennis player, I am a pure federal product as they say. I think I have always had a positive image with my Federation, I have always wet the jersey for the France team. Today, the Federation is our mother. Even if today, I undertake private projects, it is never without the Federation. It’s always with a view to working together to promote tennis. I hope that in the future, I will have the opportunity to work even more with the Federation to make things happen.

You are in the organization of the Open 13, are you even more involved since the end of your career?

JW. T.: Yes, I have 100% of my time to be in my business. It’s true that I invest a lot in Marseille, in Lyon, at the Open de Moselle, on a challenger in Saint-Tropez as well as a Future in Grasse. It’s part of my commitment to my sport, I’m discovering lots of areas that I didn’t know, I’m starting from scratch. I am also invested in my association “Attrap’ la Balle” so that young people realize their dreams in tennis.

Looking back, what are the best moments of your career?

JW. T.: There are plenty, I could write a book or several. It’s actually something that’s stuck in my head. Why not write to tell the general public the anecdotes that I could not tell when I was a player. I was afraid to see how it was going to be perceived. Now I can say what I want and deliver the experience as it really was.