The former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga announced his retirement from professional tennis. After his four-set loss against Casper Ruud of Norway in the first round of the French Open. The Frenchman had earlier announced that he will retire from professional tennis after this year’s French Open. Tsonga  started his professional tennis career in the year 2004. In his illustrious career, which spanned 18 long years. The 37-year-old won 18 ATP singles titles, including two Masters 1000 titles.

After playing the last game of his career, Tsonga was visibly emotional while addressing the reporters at the press conference. While answering the questions, the 37-year-old compared life on the court and away from the court.

You Can Be Free on the Court – Tsonga

When asked about what he will miss the most after his retirement, the former world number 5 explained the difference between real life and life in court. While in real life, one has to be cautious that you don’t end up hurting people. Whereas on a tennis court, you have full freedom to express yourself. That’s what Tsonga will miss the most after his retirement.

“In the real life, it’s sometimes difficult to be intense, you don’t want to be rude nor hurt others. You always try to act to be nice. But on the court, you can express your fever, everything about you. You can be free.” He said.

Notably, the Frenchman had defeated the big three, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer when they were ranked number 1 in the world.

Read more: ‘Wish Every Child in the World to Do the Same’ – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s Emotional and Awe-Inspiring Message After Farewell French Open Match

He is one of only 3 players to do so. However, from 2018 onwards, he fell in ranking as his career got plagued with injuries.

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The Last Fight for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The 37-year-old showed exemplary courage and determination in the last game of his career. Playing in the first round of the French Open against his Norwegian Opponent Casper Ruud, Tsonga started well and won the first set of the match. However, Ruud leveled the score, winning the equally intense second set. The competition was intense between the two. But the American lost his momentum in the third set and was seen struggling against Ruud’s consistency. Ruud took the third set easily, winning it 6-2.

In the last set, Tsonga showed a lot of grit as he suffered an unfortunate injury to his shoulder and played the set in pain. However, not being at his best, the 37-year-old still gave a tough fight but was unable to save the set as Ruud went on to clinch the match 6-7,7-6,6-2,7-6.

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Tsonga left a great legacy behind and will always be remembered as one of the best French players of all time.