Richard Gasquet reveals where he will retire next year: It’s the best tournament to do it
Richard Gasquet has had some retirement news of his own today, with the former top 10 player explaining why he wants to play his final tournament at Roland Garros.
Gasquet has been a professional player since 2002, which is the year that he made his Grand Slam senior debut at just 15-years-old and won the US Open junior title.
The now 38-year-old has since claimed 16 ATP titles, and spent 19 consecutive years inside the top 100 until January of this year, peaking at a career-high ranking of World No.7.
Now at No.133 in the ATP rankings, Gasquet has announced that he will retire at Roland Garros next year in front of his home crowd.
“It’s the best tournament to do it. It’s beautiful, we’re lucky being French to be able to retire in this kind of incredible place,” Gasquet told French newspaper L’Equipe. “An end is always complicated, all the former great players have often told me, it’s not easy to announce it. You never know when, how, where… Here, in any case, it goes without saying.”
Despite there often being a lot of emotions associated with retirement, Gasquet has admitted that is not really the case for him.
“It’s not heartbreaking because I gave it my all,” he said. “I’ve played so much, so many matches… I started tennis at 3 years old, it will be 36 years of training, every day!! I started in the pros in 2002, and I’ll be here 23 years later… Twenty-three years on the circuit! I can’t give more, quite simply, I can’t go any further.”
À 38 ans, Richard Gasquet a décidé de mettre fin à sa riche carrière lors du prochain Roland-Garros. Avec l’envie d’enchaîner avec un rôle à la FFT auprès des jeunes https://t.co/4n6aMaEtYL pic.twitter.com/uGUvsaJdEP
— L’ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) October 10, 2024
Not only did Gasquet have success on the tour, but also at the Grand Slams having reached three semi-finals (Wimbledon – 2007 and 2015, US Open – 2013) and also the quarter-final of his home major in 2016.
And now he is looking ahead to his career post-retirement, as he looks to remain in the sport and help upcoming French players, “I’ve been talking to president (French Tennis Federation) Gilles Moretton for a little while now. We had very good discussions about tennis, I get along very well with him. He’s passionate and we have the same vision of things. The same goes for Ivan Ljubicic, director of the high level and Riccardo Piatti. I know that I will be able to help them in their mission.”
He continued, “I want to take care of young French people, to be on the court with 14-15 year old guys. When I was training at the CNE (National Tennis Centre), I saw them all come and go!! I have always followed their progress. With [Arthur] Fils, I trained with him when he was 15, I saw right away that he was playing well… There, there are one or two who play really well!”
Gasquet will likely require a wildcard for Roland Garros next year, that begins on Sunday 25th May.
Inside the baseline…
Of all days to announce your retirement, Richard Gasquet certainly chose the wrong one if he wanted a big reaction. That being said, it is nice to see that Gasquet is going to go out on his own terms at his home Grand Slam. And the crowd will be electric, as they were for his matches in Paris earlier this year. Not only has Gasquet had much success on the court in terms of victories, but he has also drawn eyes across the world with his beautiful one-handed backhand that will certainly be missed.
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