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Have you stopped for a moment to consider the possible tennis retirements in 2024? To be classified as such, of course, a professional player must choose to call it a day during the 2024 season. And there are a handful of players I am watching closely in connection with this subject.
While yes, there is plenty of tennis to come in 2024, I have a sneaky feeling that this could be the last season for a range of players. I say this because in the men’s game, we have several legends who are now in their mid to late 30s, and some are struggling with long-term injuries.
As for the women’s game, while the reasons for possible tennis retirements in 2024 remain similar to the men’s, there are further considerations, such as starting families, just as one example.
Anyway, no two tennis retirements are ever the same, and for the moment, I can only predict who may retire during the 2024 season. Yet just because I’m working with predictions here, this doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to make a few educated guesses.
So if you’re interested in finding out who could hang their rackets up this season, simply read on through the sections below.
Possible tennis retirements 2024 – my shortlist and its creation
Contents
If you take a moment to look ahead at the ATP 2024 schedule, or the WTA 2024 schedule for that matter, you’ll see just how demanding the professional tour is. It’s no secret – the top players are on the road for the bulk of the year, and they compete all over the world. This might seem glamorous, yet such a lifestyle has inevitable side effects.
For example, when players have families, they can be away from them for weeks or even months on end. As for the sheer pressure of the schedule, injuries tend to come and go, yet they are obviously more frequent in players who are in the twilight of their careers. But why am I telling you this?
Well, I’m telling you this to paint a picture of what kind of considerations must be kept in mind before assessing possible tennis retirements in 2024. And when you keep such considerations in mind while proceeding to look through some players who may be struggling, there are some clear retirements on the horizon.
Therefore, let me give you my shortlist for both the ATP and WTA players before we continue:
ATP players
- Rafael Nadal
- Andy Murray
- Stan Wawrinka
- Gael Monfils
- Richard Gasquet
WTA players
- Venus Williams
- Alize Cornet
- Yanina Wickmayer
- Petra Kvitova
The most likely of my possible tennis retirements 2024
Now that I’ve provided you with a shortlist of retirements that seem feasible in 2024, I feel it’s only fair to pick the ‘most likely’ individuals to explain further. This way, you can form a connection between the shortlist and the actual chances that these players will retire in 2024.
So now, let me go into further detail on the five possible tennis retirements in 2024 that I believe have the highest chance of materialising:
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has already secured his place in tennis history. He will forever go down as one of the greatest players who ever lived. And while he has attempted a comeback in Australia, sadly, he was added to the list of Australian Open withdrawals at the last minute.
For me, this is his body showing him that he just cannot keep going at the pace required for professional tennis, not to mention that he now has a family. Let’s not forget that he turns 38 this year too, which adds up to a very likely 2024 retirement, in my opinion.
Andy Murray
As a big Andy Murray, it pains me to add him to the list of possible tennis retirements 2024. But as big of a fan as I am, I’m still realistic. Murray has played with a metal hip for several years already, which obviously cannot be easy for the former world number one.
Additionally, while Murray believes he can still challenge for Grand Slam titles, I just can’t see it. Sure, he can still produce the kind of tennis to beat some of the top players in the world. But he just cannot sustain that level anymore.
Much like Nadal, he is also in his mid to late 30s, while he also has four kids at home.
Venus Williams
You probably remember the retirement of Serena Williams at the US Open in 2022. This was an amazing send-off, yet people tend to forget that Venus Williams still plays on the WTA Tour. At 43 years of age, Venus Williams had set her sights on playing the Australian Open before withdrawing through injury.
However, given her string of injuries and her current ranking of almost 500 in the world, I feel Venus Williams is a key candidate to become one of the possible tennis retirements in 2024.
Petra Kvitova
Many had hoped to see Petra Kvitova’s name in the 2024 Australian Open schedule this season, but Kvitova withdrew due to some exciting news. In 2024, she will give birth to her very first child, which puts her in the same category as players like Svitolina, Azarenka, Osaka, and others who have ‘mother’ status.
As for why I believe this could spell the end of Kvitova’s career, she is 33 years of age, at the time of writing. And while other players have returned to the tour after becoming mothers, typically, they’ve been much younger.
Stan Wawrinka
Much like the section on Andy Murray above, it hurts to put Stan Wawrinka down on the list of possible tennis retirements 2024. This man has been a true legend in his time. In fact, should Wawrinka have reached his peak in a different era, I believe he could have won many more slams than he did.
But regardless of his impressive career, we cannot ignore the fact that Stan Wawrinka is 38 years old. This puts him as the oldest player in the ATP top 100, and since his ranking isn’t consistently high anymore, one can understand if he loses the motivation to keep playing beyond 2024.
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