Gasquet: "It's the perfect ending for me"

If you were also born in the 90s, you surely felt nostalgic this Thursday watching the final chapter in the career of Richard Gasquet. A player who has been with us for over two decades, someone who can hardly be criticized for his performance, as he had to dance with several generations of tennis players who barely left him room on the stage. Honors for the Frenchman, eliminated in this Roland Garros 2025 in the second round against the current world number 1, impossible to imagine a better farewell. After the well-deserved tribute and drying some tears, this was the press conference with the local media.

Love for tennis

“I love tennis, just the simple act of playing it. Even as a child, I could play at the club with my father, and I loved it. Imagine doing it in front of a full stadium like today, it's incredible. I played my whole life with a large audience, I gave my best to compete and experience those incredible feelings when facing these great players in places like Roland Garros or Wimbledon. I was very lucky to stay on the circuit for so long, I cherish great memories, but now it's time to retire. It's strange because I've been doing this my whole life, but someday you have to stop, that's tennis. I'm very fortunate to do it on such a stage against the world No. 1, it's the perfect ending for me.”

A special moment

“It's hard to pick just one, I had great matches. I reached Grand Slam semi-finals, I won the Davis Cup, just those are already great memories. Today I conclude my career, it's my life, say it's not normal to be a professional tennis player. From now on, I'll play for fun, like I did as a kid, I'll do it again just for the love of tennis, even if it's not professional. I still have a lot of life ahead despite retiring; I don't know what I'll do in the future, but playing tennis with my friends will be enough. I'm happy, I'm very lucky to have my health, even though I'll turn 39 soon. I still enjoy playing tennis, so I will surely do it in the future.”

Retirement to come to terms with

“It's a little strange that it's all over, strange to finish here because I haven't fully absorbed it yet. I'm happy to leave at almost 39 years old, I couldn't have dreamed of a better ending because you never know what can happen in your last tournament. It's not always easy to tie all the pieces together every day, so ending on Chatrier against the No. 1 is a wonderful finale for me. I'm very pleased with what I could do in my last tournament, but it's strange to think that tomorrow there won't be that stress, no recovery or training. There won't be tennis on grass, that's the most amazing part. My mind tells me I need to recover and rest, but I'm at peace with the decision to stop.”

Happy not to have collapsed physically

“I'm happy to have ended my career without being completely beaten down, but I carry a lot of pain, a lot of fatigue. I know I have a good life, I'll be able to do other things, I don't suffer in that aspect. Some tennis players end their careers with poor health or showing a very low level of tennis. I'm happy to have ended here without making a fool of myself. In Monte Carlo, I won a match and another here, it went well for me, I managed the end of my career well. I'm happy to have played these tournaments and to stop now, it's the right moment after dropping so much in the rankings. I've had several injuries this season, people never know when to stop, it's not easy.”

The greatest pride of his career

“I keep the Davis Cup, that was wonderful. We were in Lille with over 28,000 people, those emotionally charged moments surpass everything I've known, even though I had never felt as stressed as in Lille 2014 and 2017. It was the most stressful thing I experienced in tournaments, though I will always remember being able to play, see the audience, and travel the world playing excellent tennis. I always wanted to do that when I was young, so emotionally, it's time to stop here. I hold wonderful memories for the rest of my life, and that's what matters most. Of course, there are matches I would love to play again, some I lost that I would have loved to win, but I'm lucky to have had a wonderful career and to have fulfilled myself as a tennis player.”

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gasquet: “Es el final perfecto para mí”