3 bold retirement predictions for 2025 ft. Venus Williams
The new tennis season is about to start with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner among those raring to go. The United Cup, which is being held in Australia, has kick-started the new season. The Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam, will take place in January 2025.
One can expect a lot of good things from the upcoming season, with players like Alcaraz and Sinner going from strength to strength and looking to shape a new era in tennis.
However, on the flip side, we might also see a few retirements in the upcoming year. In this article, we will take a look at three players who might decide to hang up their rackets in 2025. Let us get on with the list:
#3. Gael Monfils
Monfils will turn 39 in 2025 and has been playing professional tennis since 2004. It has been a reasonably successful career spanning two decades for the veteran Frenchman, who has won 12 ATP singles titles so far.
Monfils became a father in 2022 and is married to Elina Svitolina, a fellow tennis player. Quite understandably, his priorities might change as his daughter, Skai, grows up.
The Frenchman recently suffered a back injury that plagued him. He does not play in many tournaments these days and is ranked outside the top-50 at the moment. Hence, he might decide to call it a day next year itself.
#2. Venus Williams
It is quite surprising that Venus is still a part of the WTA Tour. At 44, she is one of the oldest women ever to play professional tennis. She is ranked 980th in the world at the moment, but one hardly bothers to look at her ranking these days.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion plays very selectively these days and might only feature in a few events in the upcoming year.
Serena, her younger sister, has already retired from the game and the upcoming year might be the time for the older sibling to follow suit.
#1. Novak Djokovic
Nobody in the history of the game has probably achieved as much as Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion also became an Olympic gold medalist in 2024, thereby achieving every possible accolade that the game has to offer.
Djokovic will turn 38 in May 2025 and goes into the new year having failed to win a single ATP title in 2024, thereby making it a really ordinary year other than his Olympic triumph. Another ordinary run in 2025 might make him ponder retirement.
Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, his two arch-rivals over the course of his career, have retired from the game. It might be time for the Serb to follow suit next year. Although still supremely fit and competitive, Djokovic might not have much motivation left in the game.