Roberto Bautista Agut officially retired from tennis earlier this week at the Copa del Rey de Tenis exhibition event in Huelva, Spain.
“The Copa del Rey Tennis Tournament has been my last event as a professional,” the 38-year-old posted on social media. “I was thrilled that it would be in Spain, and this iconic tournament was the perfect stage to bid farewell. Grateful to those of you who have been with me on this journey and to tennis for everything it has given me.”
Bautista Agut’s last official match came at Wimbledon, where he lost to Joao Fonseca 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round.
The Spaniard, who turned pro in 2005, reached a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the world in November of 2019. He made a run to the Wimbledon semifinals that year while also winning a title in Doha, advancing to quarterfinals in Miami, Montreal, and Cincinnati, and leading Spain to the Davis Cup title. Bautista Agut reached 23 ATP finals and won 12 titles.
“There comes a time when your body and mind say ‘enough,'” Bautista Agut said during an interview with the ATP Tour. “You have to know how to listen to yourself and step away from the Tour when the time is right. I don’t think I’m physically in the same shape as I used to be either. Given the state my body is in, I can’t cope with four or five matches a week. It’s time.”
Even though it did not go well for him (as it did not for basically everyone), Bautista Agut relished the opportunity to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in their prime. He was 0-3 against Nadal, 0-9 against Federer, and a respectable 3-9 against Djokovic.
“I’ve lived through tennis’s golden age,” he reflected, “with the very highest standard and a very strong top 10. The draws hardly ever opened up. They were wonderful years.”
very good career
Good for RBA, was always a great competitor
yep, overachieved in his career
Wonder what is taking Wawrinka so long? Don’t know why some of them make it a long drawn out 5 year Baghdatis tour.