4 Players for whom US Open 2022 will be their last ft. Serena Williams
The 2022 US Open marks the final Slam appearance for some professional players on tour. In the 2022 season, 17 players on the ATP tour and 19 players from the WTA Tour have announced their retirement from tennis.
Earlier this year, former World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty retired from professional tennis. A winner of two Major singles titles, the 26-year-old decided to hang up her boots while holding the No. 1 ranking. After two comebacks from retirement, former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters decided to end her career as a tennis player in April 2022.
Former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who never officially announced her retirement, revealed in an interview that she won't be returning to tennis due to repeated injuries and wants to give priority to her family.
On the men's side, veterans Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Tommy Robredo and Kevin Anderson bid farewell to professional tennis. Tsonga, a winner of 18 ATP singles titles, retired in front of his home crowd at the French Open. Kohlschreiber, who made 68 Grand Slam main draw appearances during his career, retired after losing in the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon.
Two-time Major runner-up Kevin Anderson decided to call it a day after the Miami Masters this year. Robredo, who played on the ATP tour for over two decades, decided to retire in front of his home crowd in Barcelona.
Let's take a look at four players who are currently in the final phase of their careers and will play at the 2022 US Open for the last time.
#1 Aljaz Bedene
Former top 50 player Aljaz Bedene announced in May 2022 that he would retire at the end of the season after Slovenia's Davis Cup tie. Bedene turned professional in 2008 and made four finals at the ATP 250 level. In all four finals, he finished as the runner-up.
The Slovenian has never made it past the third round in Slams or Masters events. Currently playing in the tennis Bundesliga in Germany, Bedene has lost all three of his matches. He is currently listed in the singles entry list for the 2022 US Open. Bedene's post-retirement plan includes being a soccer agent.
“I don’t train as much as I used to because I have other projects. I love tennis and football, and I already have several projects representing athletes. I want to play at a high level and enjoy this last dance,” said Bedene in an interview with Serbian media SportKlub.
#2 Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon turned professional in 2002 and after 20 years on tour, he is saying goodbye to tennis. The veteran Frenchman is a former top-10 player, winning 14 singles tour-level titles. He has twice been a runner-up in Masters events (2008 Madrid and 2014 Shanghai).
Simon's best results in the Majors came in the 2009 Australian Open and the 2015 Wimbledon championships where he made the quarterfinals. A member of the modern four Musketeers of tennis, Simon will play at the 2022 US Open for the last time. The Frenchman never made it past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
Ce fut une aventure magique, merveilleuse et extraordinaire. Elle s’arrêtera à la fin de l’année. Un énorme MERCI à tous ceux qui l’ont rendue possible.
Il n’y a aucune tristesse, aucun regret. Juste la volonté de mettre tout ce qu’il me reste. Sur chaque match, jusqu’à la fin.
#3 Sania Mirza
Former doubles No. 1 and winner of six doubles and six mixed doubles Majors, Sania Mirza will put the breaks on her professional tennis career at the end of the season. She is a former top-30 player in singles and is currently a top-30 doubles player. After losing in the first round of her doubles match at the Australian Open, Mirza confirmed her retirement plans.
"There's a bunch of reasons for it. I do feel my recovery is taking longer and considering my son is three years old, I do feel I am putting him at risk by travelling so much with him. Unfortunately the pandemic is making us take certain decision for the well-being of our-self and family. My body is wearing down. My knee was really hurting today and I'm not saying that's the reason we lost but I do think that it is taking time to recover as I'm getting older," said Mirza.
Mirza won the 2014 US Open in mixed doubles and the 2015 US Open in the women's doubles category. At the 2022 US Open, Sania Mirza and Coco Vandeweghe got one of the wildcards for the doubles main draw.
#4 Serena Williams
Serena Williams is widely regarded as the greatest woman to have played the sport and the announcement of her departure from the sport has plunged the tennis fraternity into an emotional wave. A winner of 23 singles, 14 doubles and two mixed doubles Slams, Williams was the No. 1 ranked player for 319 weeks.
She turned professional in 1995 and has won 73 tour-level singles titles and 23 doubles titles in her career.
Serena Williams gets emotional as fans show their appreciation at the end of her suspected final match in Canada 🥺
(via Some1NamedRyan)
https://t.co/7R0DgDyYVm
A three-time career Slam winner in singles and two-time career Slam winner in doubles, the American has won one Olympic gold once in singles and thrice in doubles. She is placed 16th on the entry list for the 2022 US Open as she enters the event for the final time with a special ranking.
We all transform. Retirement? I prefer forever evolving. @SerenaVentures
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