Dan Evans retired from tennis after losing his first-round doubles match at Wimbledon.
One week after playing the final singles match of his career, losing to Tristan Schoolkate in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying, Evans waved goodbye to tennis with a first-round defeat in the doubles event.
Evans and Henry Searle lost to Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets, 2-6, 4-6.
Where does Dan Evans rank among the greatest British tennis players in history?
After the match, an emotional Evans took the microphone to deliver one last message.
Dan Evans admits he took Wimbledon for granted at times during his career as he retires from tennis
During his post-match interview, Evans looked back on his Wimbledon career.
“It was amazing,” he said.
“Sometimes you take this tournament for granted when you’re in the midst of your career, and you’re trying to get better and better.
“I said last night to my agent that I’ve really enjoyed just walking around, taking it all in, and watching some of the other Brits this week.
“It has been sort of fitting that I didn’t really have to do too much, so I could take it in.”
Evans made his Wimbledon debut in 2009, and has been a popular figure at the All England Club ever since.
The Briton reached the third round three times, and narrowly missed out on a place in the last 16 seven years ago, when he lost to Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the fifth set.
Dan Evans’ Wimbledon record (7-10)
- 2009 – Lost in 1R to Nikolay Davydenko, 2-6, 3-6, 3-6
- 2010 – Lost in Q2 to Ricardas Berankis, 5-7, 3-6
- 2011 – Lost in 1R to Florian Mayer, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 4-6
- 2013 – Lost in Q1 to Daniel Munoz de la Nava, 1-6, 6-3, 2-6
- 2014 – Lost in 1R to Andrey Kuznetsov, 1-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-7
- 2015 – Lost in Q3 to Yuichi Sugita, 6-7, 2-6, 5-7
- 2016 – Lost in 3R to Roger Federer, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6
- 2018 – Lost in Q2 to Matthias Bachinger, 0-6, 3-6
- 2019 – Lost in 3R to Joao Sousa, 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 4-6
- 2021 – Lost in 3R to Sebastian Korda, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6
- 2022 – Lost in 1R to Jason Kubler, 1-6, 4-6, 3-6
- 2023 – Lost in 1R to Quentin Halys, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6
- 2024 – Lost in 1R to Alejandro Tabilo, 2-6, 5-7, 3-6
- 2025 – Lost in 2R to Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 2-6, 0-6
- 2026 – Lost in Q2 to Tristan Schoolkate, 5-7, 0-6
Evans continued, confirming that all the sacrifices were worth it.
“I’m all good. It is just emotional, isn’t it?” he said.
“You just think of your family and all of the sacrifices that we’ve made. You live out your dreams here, don’t you? This tournament is what I grew up watching. I remember getting home from school and watching Wimbledon, and I was one of the lucky few who got to play here in the end.
“Everything was worth it in the end. For anybody thinking twice about putting the effort in, I can tell you it is worth it. It hasn’t been as bad as we sometimes think it is.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute that I’ve played on these courts.”
Dan Evans deserved a better send-off from Wimbledon
Evans never won a Grand Slam or a Masters 1000 title, but he certainly deserved better from Wimbledon this year.
Firstly, he wasn’t given a main draw wild card, which seemed a bizarre decision considering all he’s done for British tennis.
Then, for what turned out to be the final match of his professional career, Evans was scheduled to play on Court 15.
Whatever you think about Evans, surely he deserved to say goodbye on a bigger stage than that?
The 36-year-old wasn’t given the respect he deserved from Wimbledon, and while he may not be the type to complain publicly, the way he has been treated this year shouldn’t be ignored.
