38-Year-Old French Tennis Star Announced Retirement, Just Before Rafael Nadal News

Richard Gasquet, the former No. 7 tennis player, has revealed his plans to retire next year after Roland Garros, a clay court major.Gasquet has won 16 ATP Tour titles, most recently last year in Auckland. He has claimed 36 victories against Top 10 opponents and competed in the ATP Finals twice, in 2007 and 2013. The Frenchman was the semifinalist at Wimbledon (2007 and 2015) and the US Open (2013). "I think that it is the best moment for me to do it. It is the best tournament to do it. It's magnificent, we have the chance being French to be able to stop in these kind of incredible places. An end, it's always complicated, all the former great players always told me it's not easy to announce. You never know when, how, where. Here, in any case, it is obvious," Gasquet said in an interview with French national sports daily L'Equipe.

The 38-year-old Frenchman has earned 605 tour-level wins (605-400), the third-most victories among active players behind only Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, according to ATP Win/Loss Index.

Gasquet, who turned pro in 2002, won his ATP Tour debut match aged 16 at the 2002 Monte-Carlo Masters against Franco Squillari.

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