In an emotional tribute held at the Lawn Tennis Club for his retirement from tennis at the age of 33, Guido Pella assured that ““The Davis Cup was the best” of his career and that it was “the only thing” that motivated him the most “in all these years as a professional.”
“The 2016 Davis Cup was the best of my career, although I think I still haven’t realized what we really achieved, maybe now that I’ve retired I realize it“, revealed Pella in his retirement speech. The former world number 20 received a painting with a photo of that final against Croatia.
Under a standing ovation in the club, Pella He added: “I will never forget the moments I experienced in this competition. That is why I wanted to come and thank all of you, the people who always accompanied us, who often made efforts to travel to encourage us. I am very grateful for the affection “.
Your decision to retire
Already in a press conference, Pella He recounted why he decided to leave the activity: “Why am I leaving? Uh, I could use all the time we have for this conference answering just that question, but let’s summarize.”
“In October 2021, when I went to play in Russia, I felt like something had broken. I felt like I was never going to recover from everything that had happened from the pandemic to that tournament.. But I gave myself one more year to see something about him change,” he said. That tournament he referred to was the ATP 250 in Moscow, in which he was injured in the first round and did not play a tournament again until 2022. .
“This year I had flashes of good tennis, but I never felt the same desire or the same spark, I was never the same again., to fight like he fought before. I tried, but I couldn’t. And I’m not a person who does things halfway. When the US Open began to approach, I said, “I’m going to try to have a good tournament there, in a place that means a lot to me, and then turn the page,” he continued.
On whether he was completely decided: “Am I one hundred percent convinced? No, when are you going to be one hundred percent convinced? But I knew it was time, because of everything I just said,” he said.
“My team suggested that I play until February to try to retire at the Argentina Open, but I told them: ‘I won’t make it to next year. I don’t have the mental or physical strength to continue training, having a season, going to play against players “They are very hungry. I had a very bad time when I had to get ready to go back last year. I didn’t want to do it again.”
“Tennis was everything. It was my job. I gave him everything and tennis was very wise and gave me everything I was looking for. It allowed me to travel the world, see wonderful places and people. That’s what I take away. Now I have to retire when most people start. I have to start again. I have my whole life ahead of me and that is the challenge. Trying to find or motivate myself again with something that motivates me as much as tennis,” concluded the one born in Bahía Blanca.
2023-09-18 15:37:42
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