Tsonga to bid farewell to tennis after Roland-Garros this year

The former world No 5, who won 18 ATP singles titles and 4 ATP doubles titles during his career, will play his final tournament in front of his fans at the French Open this year

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rotterdam Open ABN Amro Tennis 2022 Image Credit: Proshots / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

April 7, 2022

Former world No 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, one of the most charismatic and popular players of his generation, has announced that the 2022 Roland-Garros Championships will be the final tournament of his career.

Tsonga, who will turn 37 years old later this month, made the announcement on social media, where he spoke about “so many incredible moments, of joy shared with an audience that has given me so much… still hoping for one last thrill with you!”

Tsonga, who has struggled with several injuries in recent years including knee and arm injuries, said he will speak more about the same during his press conference at next week’s Monte-Carlo Masters, where he will be playing.

The Frenchman, whose athleticism and shot-making abilities made him o crowd-puller in every tournament he went to, plans to play Monte-Carlo, Aix en Provence, Lyon & then French Open before hanging up his racquets, according to L’Equipe.

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 won 18 ATP singles titles and more than $22 million in career prize money

Tsonga has won 18 ATP singles titles, 4 ATP doubles titles and more than $22.4 million in prize money in his during his career. He currently has a 467-235 win-loss record on the ATP Tour (including 2-4 in 2022).

Besides his electrifying run to the Australian Open final in 2008, the Frenchman also reached the semi-finals at the French Open (2013, 2015) and Wimbledon (2011, 2012) as well as the quarter-finals of the US Open (2011, 2015, 2016), and spent 260 weeks in the world’s Top 10.

Tsonga also played some of his best tennis while representing his country, winning an Olympic silver at the 2012 London Games along with Michael Llodra, and helping France win the Davis Cup (2017) and Hopman Cup (2014) team events.

He also has the second-highest winning percentage (66.5%) in ATP level matches among his countrymen, behind Yannick Noah (69.6%) and is one of only two Frenchmen (the other being Jean Borotra) to reach the quarter-finals at all the four Majors in tennis.