Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a former Australian Open runner-up and world number five, said Wednesday that he will retire from tennis after this year’s French Open.
“A few weeks ago I decided I was going to stop at Roland Garros this year,” the 36-year-old Tsonga said in a video posted to social media.
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“It took me a long time to make this decision,” the Frenchman added. “My body is telling me ‘you can’t go any further than what I give you’.”
Tsonga, unseeded, lost the 2008 Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic as the Serb claimed the first of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
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He made it to the semi-finals twice at both the French Open and Wimbledon and finished runner-up to Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2011.
C’est avec beaucoup d’émotions que j’annonce aujourd’hui ma décision d’arrêter ma carrière professionnelle lors du prochain tournoi de @rolandgarros 🧡
It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to stop my career at the next French Openhttps://t.co/yCmP3wch3o— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) April 6, 2022
Tsonga earned Olympic silver in the men’s doubles alongside Michael Llodra at London 2012 and was part of France’s Davis Cup triumph in 2017.
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He also won two Masters titles — in Paris in 2008 and Toronto in 2014.
However, his struggles with a number of different injuries in recent years has seen his ranking tumble to 220.
He won just one match at tour level last season before ending it prematurely following a first-round loss at Wimbledon.
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Tsonga returned to action in Montpellier in February, with a view to planning the final stages of his career.
“I decided that I had to stop at a moment that I chose, a moment when I was able to go on the court,” he said.
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“I have always set myself high goals to try to get what I can. For me, this will be the opportunity to do it one last time.”
