Richard Gasquet, “the reverse man” who, victorious or defeated, always amazed his fans

He will never have won the Grand Slam tournament that all tennis fans promised him when they saw his first racket shots. He will also not have reached world number one or competed with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But by announcing, Thursday October 10, that he would definitively put away his rackets at Roland-Garros in 2025 (May 25-June 8), Richard Gasquet created a much stronger stir than for a “simple” formalization of the end of his career. a former world number 7.

Last snub of destiny: after spending years in the shadow of Rafael Nadal, the Biterrois did not even have the monopoly on tributes on Thursday. His Spanish rival also chose October 10 to make it known that he was preparing to say “stop”. There is no doubt that the Majorcan and his twenty-two Grand Slam trophies will leave a more lasting mark in the history of tennis than Richard Gasquet and his sixteen titles, all acquired in the ATP 250 – the fourth category in the hierarchy of tournaments.

But the Frenchman was also a character apart in the world of the little yellow ball. Not particularly tall (1.83 m) nor particularly physically impressive, he would have easily gone unnoticed in the street without his feats of arms on the courts. Gasquet was above all “Richard”, a first name shouted until they lost their voices by his fans, always massively present during his matches. A player who came straight from the Sérignan tennis club (Hérault), with whom everyone could identify.

Richard Gasquet was also a hope. That of finally seeing a Frenchman leave Roland-Garros with the Coupe des Mousquetaires under his arm to succeed Yannick Noah, the last French winner in 1983. The fans believed in it early, even too early according to the person concerned. Almost since the famous front page Tennis Magazine immortalizing him, at 9 years old, when he was already breaking records. “It made me uncomfortable. I was rather introverted. So young, it’s not at all pleasant”he regretted, in 2019, in the podcast Echange.

A “signature” move

A symbol of precocity in his early days, Richard Gasquet ended up making his mark with his ability to last, tirelessly competing in secondary circuit tournaments at the age of 38. “I really like tennis”he told the Monde, in October 2023. Perhaps wanting to prepare his fans – and himself – for the inevitable announcement of his retirement, he had taken care, two days earlier, to sign a license with the Bordeaux tennis club, with which he will continue to play interclub tournaments.

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