Former world No 8 hails ‘wonderful trip’ as he confirms 2025 retirement
Former French Open semi-finalist Diego Schwartzman has announced he will retire from tennis at the Argentina Open next year.
Schwartzman, who was recently announced as an executive member of the PTPA, revealed on Instagram that it was “difficult” for him to maintain the same intensity he once had – but that tennis had “given me everything.”
A winner of four ATP titles, the Argentine also reached a further 10 finals, most notably finishing runner-up at the 2020 Italian Open.
He backed that up by reaching the semi-final of Roland Garros that same year, beating recently-crowned US Open winner Dominic Thiem in a five-hour quarterfinal.
Schwartzman will be calling time on his career next February on home clay in Buenos Aires, at a tournament he won in 2021, and also reached the final of in 2019 and 2022.
He said: “What a journey! How many moments I would never have imagined, how many anecdotes I would never have dreamed of, how many people I met who helped me grow, who taught me so much, who made me a much better player and person than I was before. anyone had ever believed.
“Every corner of the court, every second of training, every point in the match, in every moment I was immensely happy.
— diego schwartzman (@dieschwartzman) May 5, 2024
“I lived it with such intensity that today it is difficult for me to maintain it, today it carries a weight, and it is difficult for me to continue to fully enjoy them.
“On the one hand, leaving a life that has given me so much is a very difficult decision, but on the other, how happy I was playing tennis pushes me to continue wanting. keep a smile on and off the pitch as I always have. However today I sometimes struggle to find that smile again.
“Inside me, a competitive animal prevents me from having fun, playing and travelling like before. I want my last tournaments to be my decision.
“Tennis has given me everything I have and much more that I will carry with me forever. It was a wonderful trip.”
At the peak of his career, he reached his career high of eighth in October 2020 – after his Roland Garros run – and finished that year as the world No 9.
He remained in the top 15 in 2021 but his ranking began to slip in 2022, finishing that year as the world No 25 – before falling out of the top 100 in 2023.
Currently world No 142, Schwartzman is competing in Italian Open qualifying this week and beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his opening qualification match.