Britain’s Tim Henman, who reached six Grand Slam semifinals in a 14-year career, announced his retirement from tennis on Thursday.
The 32-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals on four occasions, said his last tournament will be Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Croatia at the All England Club from September 21 to 23.
Henman, who turns 33 on September 6, has been plagued by a back injury this year and has won just three tour matches.
As a result, the former world number four has seen his ranking slump to 92 in the world.
”I would officially like to say that I’m going to be retiring after the Davis Cup against Croatia at Wimbledon,” said the Englishman during a press conference at the United States Tennis Centre, where the US Open will start on Monday.
”From a professional point of view, I was thinking about this for some time, with the issues I had with my back and the effects it had on my practice. My life has got a little harder and a little bit less enjoyable from that point of view.”
As well as his six Grand Slam semifinals, Henman won one Masters title as well as an Olympic silver medal in doubles.
Henman, who will play his final Grand Slam event at next week’s US Open, where he will open against Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov, admitted that his ongoing injury problems as well as being about to become father for the third time had hastened his decision.
”With our third child on the way, there’s an even bigger incentive to be at home. It certainly gets harder and harder to be away from your family.
”I’m looking forward to taking a step back from the tennis life and spending time with my family. I’m sure that in the future, whether it’s next year or the year after, I will look at the opportunities out there.”
Henman also admitted that he was not tempted by the chance of a final Wimbledon appearance.
He had lost in the second round at the All England Club for the last three years.
”I played some of my best tennis at Wimbledon and that’s something I’ll always be proud of. My record was good there but it was always a goal of mine to win the tournament,” he said.
”Am I disappointed I didn’t win it? Yes I am. But when I reflect on my career, I was always able to maximise my potential. This was as good as I could have been.” — Sapa-AFP