Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Former World No.1 and eight-time ATP titleholder Milos Raonic announced his retirement from international tennis on January 12, ending a career that lasted nearly twenty years. The 35-year-old Canadian, who has struggled with injuries for a long time, has not played professionally for more than a year. He was a former Wimbledon runner up.
“The time has come, I am retiring from tennis. This is a moment you know will come one day, but somehow you never feel ready for it. This is as ready as I will ever be. Tennis has been my love and obsession for most of my life,” Raonic wrote on X.
“I have been the luckiest person to get to live out and fulfil my dreams. I got to show up every day and focus on just getting better, seeing where that will take me, and playing a game I was introduced to at 8 years old by complete luck. Somehow, this became my entire obsession and childhood and then became my profession and life,” he added.
The Canadian tennis star secured eight tour-level titles throughout his career. His most successful season was in 2016, when he advanced to the Wimbledon final after defeating Roger Federer in the semi-finals. That year, he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and ATP Finals, made it to the Indian Wells final, and finished the season ranked at a career-high No. 3. His last appearance was at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he was defeated 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-7(1) by Dominik Koepfer in the first round.
