Gasquet recognizes the ingredient he was missing for a better career
A few weeks before hanging up his racket, the Frenchman gave an interview reviewing the most interesting points of his career: the highs and the areas he needed to improve.
For Richard Gasquet, every tournament played in this 2025 has been special after announcing his retirement from tennis at the upcoming Roland Garros. Each stop has been the last stop, and that is what matters, although the Frenchman continues to work to leave at a high level. With nothing left to prove and an outstanding career, the Beziers player shared in a chat with Eurosport France what he felt was missing to make his career a little better, that thorn that he could never remove and that will surely accompany him beyond retirement. Apart from this, the Frenchman gave other answers worth rescuing.
His last season
"It is very important to decide when it is the end, although taking the step is the hardest. If not clear, I wouldn't stop, but inevitably I no longer feel as good as before. Look at Andy Murray at Wimbledon, or Rafa Nadal, who couldn't play his best farewell match either. Every time we decide to stop, we never know what will happen; we remain in competition and there is an opponent in front of us, so it is always complicated."
Freedom to make the decision
"Everyone is free to do what they want; no one should speak for Rafa Nadal or anyone else, no one should give them advice. If you want to play, then continue. Each person chooses their moment; there is no limit. The real question is: How do you feel? Do you feel capable of winning matches? In my case, now I feel a little less able to regain my ranking, to win those types of matches that help you move up. That's why I decide to stop; it's natural for me."
After tennis, what's next?
"We will know that when the time comes...but I imagine it will be in tennis. Then we have to see the where, the how, the when, and all that, although what I am passionate about is the court, tennis, the players, all that vibe is what attracts me. I will try to finish these six months well, take a few months off, and then see where it takes me. One idea would be to support young players, especially the French; that is the kind of activity that could interest me someday."
What he enjoys most about tennis
"It is mainly the game. I'm not talking about training or a match but hitting the ball, making good shots, winners, feeling the ball go. There are days when you feel that magic of tennis, although there are also other days when it's gone, then it's harder. What makes it go away one day and come back another day? That is the hardest to explain, but when you have one of those days in a state of grace...tennis is a wonderful sport."
The achievement that fills him with the most pride
"I stick with having had a career, simply. When I was young, I would have signed with both hands to have a career like the one I have had, to have been able to experience all these moments, to have been on all the center courts, playing incredible matches, and having vibrated with the people. Most of all, I am left with having lived immense emotions; all of this was thanks to tennis."
The big regret
"Winning a Grand Slam, for sure. However, I quickly realized that it would be difficult; I saw that it was very complicated because the generation was very strong. I reached the semifinals three times; I really believed it, but each time I ended up defeated. I reached world No. 7, although I would have liked to touch the top 5, but it's okay. What I liked the most was beating those great players, but it didn't always happen."
He never gave up
"Feeling carefree was impossible for me, impossible with my history and precocity, in that context, carelessness cannot exist. I think I was the most followed guy in history between 1 and 20 years, so you can never reach that point; I always had to play under a lot of pressure. Maybe it was something specific to France, but there was Roland Garros, the media... there I couldn't live carefree. If there was a guy who really couldn't, that was me. Despite everything, then I think it hasn't gone so wrong, although I admit that I could have done something more. Maybe with a little more natural confidence..."
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gasquet reconoce el ingrediente que le faltó para tener una carrera mejor