The flame of a rebel goes out

Andrés Tomás Rico - 22 Oct 2026 | 21:36
ATP David Goffin

David Goffin, who reached number seven in the world, hangs up his racket after falling in the second round of the ATP 250 in Brussels: "I gave it my all until the end."

Go to comments section Preferir Puntodebreak en Google
The flame of a rebel is extinguished.

When one sees David Goffin off the tennis court, with his slim build and a height of 1.80, few can imagine that he has been one of the few tennis players to have defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Carlos Alcaraz. However, this was not his greatest achievement; what set the Belgian apart was how he managed to leverage his physique in a modern tennis landscape where he was at a disadvantage. Still, he did quite well.

Behind that cold and expressionless facade was a true worker of tennis with a peculiar technique, lacking any finesse but full of power. Especially with that flat parallel backhand and an unpredictable yet highly effective serve despite his height. The Belgian was accustomed to transitioning from defense to offense in a single shot, creating a rhythm that at times became suffocating.

With this recipe, in 2017 he achieved one of the greatest successes a tennis player can attain in their career: winning against Nadal and Federer in the same tournament. It was at those ATP Finals where he played the best tournament of his life, despite losing in the final to an inspired Grigor Dimitrov, a moment that the tennis world still remembers.

2017 was his best overall year as he also managed to defeat the other member of the Big-3, Novak Djokovic, in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and lift two of the six trophies in his cabinet: the ATP 250 in Shenzhen and the ATP 500 in Tokyo. In fact, after winning these two tournaments in Asia, he achieved his best ATP ranking: 7th place.

But nine years later, at the age of 35, Goffin has hung up his racket. He does so in tears and in front of his audience and family at the ATP 250 in Brussels. In the first round, he drew on pride to come back against Remy Bertola (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), but today Alex Michelsen gave him no opportunity (6-3, 6-4). Still, he bid farewell leaving his mark, hitting 4 aces in his final service game of his career.

David Goffin was able to defeat Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, and Alcaraz

“I am proud of my entire career. I gave everything to try to reach my goals. I am proud of the attitude I have always had towards the difficulties I faced in my career. I am proud of the victories I achieved, of the rivals I defeated,” Goffin declared to ATPTour.com before the tournament.

Beyond that dream year of 2017, Goffin reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2019, as well as the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2016 and the Australian Open in 2017. He remained within the Top 20 and Top 30 of the ATP rankings until 2021. And afterwards, until 2025 he stayed among the top 100 tennis players in the world. Moreover, along the way he also managed to defeat Alcaraz on two occasions: at the ATP 250 in Astana in 2022 and at the Miami Masters 1000 in 2025.

“There are many things I am very proud of. But in the end, I don’t regret anything and I gave everything until the end. A younger version of me would say it has been quite a good career, with very good emotions thanks to the amazing places I played, like a stadium with a crowd, the Davis Cup matches I competed in. I hope a younger David will be impressed,” confessed Goffin, who was also key in Belgium's journey to the Davis Cup finals in 2015 and 2017.

In this last tournament in Brussels, Goffin could not contain all the emotions he always carried inside in an impassive manner. These days he has not stopped crying, and once his retirement was made official, he took the microphone: "I want to thank everyone for the incredible support I have received throughout my career. First of all, to my family, who has always supported me, and especially to my wife and daughter for all the sacrifices they have made.”

“I also want to thank my team and all my rivals, who have constantly pushed me to the limit. And, of course, to the fans, for their unconditional support throughout my career and especially this week. It has been a wonderful week, which I will always keep in my heart,” concluded David Goffin as he hangs up his racket after giving everything and achieving much more than was expected. Thus, the flame of a rebel who challenged the entire tennis world without any fear is extinguished.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Se apaga la llama de un rebelde