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In a social media post that Anderson made late Tuesday evening, he announced his retirement from the ATP Tour. I have to admit, I didn’t see this one coming, but it’s not quite as surprising as the Ash Barty retirement just a few months back! Then again, at 35 years of age, he had certainly been approaching the twilight of his career. He had also been suffering quite severely with injuries ever since his best seasons back in 2017 and 2018.
It’s a big shame to lose a man of such integrity, competitiveness, and also humbleness from the sport. Anderson was always a fierce, but respectful competitor, and he was much-loved on the ATP Tour. However, since he has now made the decision to call it a day, I figured now was an appropriate time to look back on some of his career highlights.
These are all discussed below.
Anderson’s Greatest Achievements on the ATP Tour
Contents
Kevin Anderson enjoyed quite the career, and as he has proclaimed himself – he gave it his best at every possible opportunity. And his commitment to the sport led to a number of impressive achievements:
Top 10 Breakthrough
As many of you will probably know, Kevin Anderson had been a top 10 player during his time. However, perhaps one of the most thrilling moments of his career was when he broke into the top 10 for the very first time. He achieved this back in 2015. And amazingly, he was the first South African player to reach the top 10 for 18 years. Still in his late 20s at the time, Anderson would proceed to back up this breakthrough in a big way!
Grand Slam Finals and Number 5 Ranking
One thing I always loved about Anderson’s game is that yes, he had a huge serve, but he wasn’t just a ‘serve bot’. He had fantastic groundstrokes, soft hands, and his net game was also pretty spectacular too. This game allowed him to reach two Grand Slam finals during his career. His first came at the 2017 US Open, where he lost to arguably the greatest player of all time – Rafael Nadal.
The following year, he made the finals of Wimbledon, before losing to another potential GOAT in the form of Novak Djokovic. These performances allowed Anderson to reach a career-high ranking of number 5!
7 ATP Titles and 350+ Career Wins
It goes without saying that it has been pretty tough to secure tournament wins on the ATP Tour for the last 20 years. With some of the greatest players to ever take to the court competing in most high-level events, racking up the trophies has been near impossible. However, Anderson still managed to secure seven tournament wins during his career. His first came in 2011 in his home country of South Africa. And his last came at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2021.
Amazingly, his title match meant that Anderson had now passed the 350 ATP wins mark. Not many players on tour have been so successful. And finally – I’d like to wish him all the best in retirement.
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