Amidst doping ban, Mikael Ymer announces premature retirement from tennis at the age of 24
Mikael Ymer has announced his retirement from professional tennis, aged only 24 years old.
Ymer's decision to call it a day on his career comes a little more than a month after he was handed an 18-month suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Swede was penalized for missing three doping tests over a 12-month period in 2021.
Ymer took to social media to make the retirement announcement and wished his colleagues the best going forward.
"Hey guys, I've decided to retire from professional Tennis. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it's been! I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition. God is Great always," Ymer tweeted.
Mikael Ymer's career has had its share of ups and downs, and he won 74 out of his 144 singles matches. The only singles final the Swede reached was at the 2021 Winston-Salem Open, where he lost 6-2, 6-0 to Ilya Ivashka.
Ymer's best performance at a Grand Slam was reaching the third round, which he accomplished at the 2021 Australian Open, the 2021 French Open, the 2022 French Open, and most recently the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
At Wimbledon 2023, Ymer beat Alex Molcan and ninth seed Taylor Fritz before losing to Daniel Elahi Galan. His career-best singles ranking is 50th, which he achieved earlier this year.
Mikael Ymer managed to win one doubles title in his career, at the 2016 Stockholm Open, where he had his brother Elias Ymer as partner.
Mikael Ymer claimed doping ban felt like a "bad dream"
Mikael Ymer wrote about his doping ban in a tweet not long back, calling the whole situation a "bad dream." The Swede claimed he had been denied justice and that he may have been a "casualty needed for the system to work."
"It feels like a bad dream. I don’t think justice has been served. I am 24 years old, at the prime of my career with a career-high ranking, and I have been banned for 18 months. Are we comfortable affecting young people’s livelihoods like this? Am I a casualty needed for the system to work? So why was I different?" he said.
Ymer's current recent singles ranking is 80th, and Wimbledon 2023 was his final tournament. The Swede won seven out of 19 matches this season, reaching the quarterfinals at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.
Mikael Ymer's brother Elias is still active on tour and is currently ranked 171st in the world.