Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365, published on Friday January 3, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
Several renowned players have hung up their hands in 2024. Like Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Alizé Cornet, Garbine Muguruza or Angelique Kerber.
We will no longer see them in competition. Unless they obviously change their minds in a few months, or even years, they have ended their careers in 2024 and put away their rackets. At the forefront of these renowned retirees, we must obviously cite Rafael Nadal. Physically worn out, the Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles (including 14 Roland-Garros) – the 2nd highest total in the history of tennis behind Novak Djokovic's 24 coronations – left at the age of 38 with a defeat in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at the end of the season in Malaga, in front of his audience, very moved by the departure of the greatest Spanish sportsman of the country's history. Nadal imitated another member of the famous “Big 4” who has long dominated the tennis world: Andy Murray. Winner of 3 Majors (the US Open in 2012, Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016) and world number 1 for 41 weeks, the Scot, winner of 49 tournaments, retired at the age of 37 after his elimination from the doubles tournament Paris 2024 Olympic Games, August 1, alongside Daniel Evans. Murray has already found work since he will coach… Djokovic in 2025.
Nadal and Murray, two members of the historic “Big 4” have hung up their positions in 2024
Another Grand Slam winner has called it quits this year. Much younger than Nadal and Murray, Dominic Thiem retired, as he announced in May, at only 31 years old, on October 22 after a defeat against Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna tournament in front of his home crowd. Winner at the US Open in 2020, finalist twice at Roland Garros and once at the Australian Open, the former Austrian world number 3 with 17 titles never recovered from his right wrist injury. Among women, Alizé Cornet is one of the retirees of the year. At 34, the Frenchwoman (6 titles), quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2022, called it quits and started her new life the day after her setback in the first round of Roland-Garros, on May 28, against the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (6-2, 6-1). Having reached 11th place in the world in February 2009, she was playing her 69th Grand Slam in a row since 2007, a record.
Cornet said stop like Muguruza and Kerber
Younger by 4 years, the Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, world number 1 in 2017 and winner of 2 Grand Slams (Roland-Garros 2016 and Wimbledon 2017), announced her withdrawal in April. She had not played for more than a year and was eliminated from entry in Lyon in January 2023. The German Angelique Kerber (36 years old), 3 Grand Slams under her belt (Australian Open and US Open in 2016, Wimbledon in 2018) and world number 1 for 34 weeks, ended her long career during the summer following her elimination in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament against Qinwen Zheng. The Italian Camila Giorgi (32 years old) has also hung up her rackets like the American Steve Johnson (34 years old) in 2024.
