ATP Mikhail Kukushkin Stefanos Tsitsipas David Goffin ATP Bruselas 2026 ATP Almaty 2026

Kukushkin says goodbye to tennis and Goffin postpones his retirement

Fernando Murciego - 21 Oct 2026
Go to comments seciton
David Goffin postpones his retirement by defeating Bertola in Brussels. Source: TennisTV

Mikhail Kukushkin and David Goffin experienced two very different chapters on their respective departures from professional tennis this Wednesday. While the Kazakh played the last match of his career at the Almaty ATP, the Belgian managed to extend his journey for at least one more day at the Brussels ATP, where he still has one last page to write before his home crowd.

Kukushkin has put an end to his career after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas with a score of 6-1 and 6-2. At the age of 38, the Kazakh had chosen precisely his home tournament to say goodbye to a profession that brought him to reach the 39th spot in the world ranking in February 2019. His final week as a professional started with a victory against Greek Stefanos Sakellaridis, but the draw reserved him one last challenge that was too demanding. Tsitsipas was the one to conclude his journey on the courts of Almaty.

A Last Chance for Goffin

The story had a very different ending in Brussels, where David Goffin managed to avoid elimination against Remy Bertola. The Belgian, who had announced his retirement at the end of this tournament, had to come from behind to win 3-6, 6-3, and 6-4, thus granting himself a new opportunity to compete in front of his fans.

At 35 years old, Goffin faces the final week of a 17-season career at the elite level, with six ATP titles, four Grand Slam quarterfinals, and a memorable run to the finals of the 2017 ATP Finals, where he fell to Grigor Dimitrov after defeating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He also reached number seven in the world, the best historical ranking of a Belgian tennis player.

His victory against Bertola does not change the decision to hang up his racket but allows him to postpone the farewell. In a week filled with emotions, the Brussels crowd will have at least one more match to enjoy one of their major references. Kukushkin has already said goodbye; Goffin still wants to bid farewell by playing.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Kukushkin dice adiós al tenis y Goffin aplaza su retirada