Former world number 5 Tommy Robredo announced on Thursday that he plans to retire from professional tennis after the upcoming Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the ATP 500 event taking place from April 16-24, ending a career of 23 years.
The player from Hostalric in Catalonia, Spain, who turns 40 in May, will leave behind one of the best careers in his country’s recent tennis history. A holder of 12 ATP Tour titles, a seven-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist and a member of the Davis Cup winning teams of 2004, 2008 and 2009, he will not be easily forgotten on the ATP Tour.
“I knew I was going to retire for a while, but the pandemic put everything back in place,” Robredo explained in a chat with Spanish news agency EFE. The Spaniard, who currently sits 343rd in the ATP rankings, was joined on the announcement of his retirement by his good friend David Ferrer, Barcelona’s tournament director. “I wanted my friends and family to be there on my retirement day.”
The Catalan will try to put a magical end to his career in a place that has always been dear to him. Robredo won in Barcelona in 2004 and reached the final in 2006, and looks forward to one last meeting with the fans who come to say goodbye to one of the Tour‘s most respected players. “It will be spectacular to see my friends at [the Barcelona tournament]“, said Robredo, who spent more than 100 weeks in the Top 10 from 2006 to 2007. “You recognize their voices and it will be a magical feeling.
After more than two decades of professional competition, the time to start a new chapter has arrived for Robredo. He welcomed his first child in March 2021 and has an exciting future ahead of him.
“Now it will be time to dedicate myself to my family, especially my daughter,” Robredo said. “Until now I’ve never had anything more fulfilling than tennis, but now I’ve found it. I want to be home with my family and my daughter. Now I know I don’t want to miss the first time she walks or says “daddy”.
“I’m an old school warrior,” added the Spaniard, who played in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, as the Nitto ATP Finals were then called. “I really took care of myself and stayed relatively injury free. I was able to continue playing because I love tennis and I have no trouble getting up in the morning to go to practice. Until the day we had to isolate ourselves, I gave 100%.
With nearly 900 matches under his belt and a well-known determination to succeed, Robredo will come away having maintained his work ethic until his last day on the Tour. The Spaniard has only made two official appearances in 2022 after several seasons competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, but continues to work hard for an emotional goodbye to Barcelona. “I want to be competitive the day I retire,” he said.
“I don’t have any plans for what’s next, but another phase will come, and that will definitely involve tennis,” Robredo added. “I’m going to do something that excites me, and I can dedicate myself with the same passion that I put into tennis.
“It’s not hard or difficult for me. I do it because I want to and it’s time. I’ve been doing this for many years, ever since I was a little boy. I gave everything. »
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on ATPTour.com/es
