feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

LONDON (Reuters) – Sweden’s Robin Soderling, the player best-known for being the first man to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open, has retired from professional tennis because of a long-running illness.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

The 31-year-old, twice a runner-up at Roland Garros, has not played an ATP World Tour event since 2011 due to mononucleosis, an energy-sapping viral illness.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Thank you so much for all your kind words. So sad I won’t play professional tennis again, but reading all your msgs makes me feel a lot better,” Soderling said on his Twitter account.

Soderling spent 10 years on the Tour and rose to world number four.

ADVERTISEMENT

In 2009 he ended Nadal’s domination in Paris with a stunning victory, only to lose to Roger Federer in the final — Federer’s only title at the claycourt grand slam.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Dhruv George

14,853 Articles

Dhruv George is EssentiallySports’ foremost authority on motorsport and a founding member of the outlet’s NASCAR desk. A Journalism graduate fluent in English and French, he brings over eight years of motorsports journalism experience covering everything from high-octane NASCAR battles to the finesse of Formula 1 and MotoGP. His extensive paddock access has earned him exclusive interviews with top names such as F1’s Pierre Gasly and Moto2’s Tony Arbolino, cementing his reputation as a trusted voice among racing fans. Known for his candid opinions, Dhruv isn’t afraid to tackle contentious officiating calls, most recently defending Joey Logano after the DYL penalty in Phoenix. Before focusing on NASCAR as a Senior Writer, Dhruv contributed extensively to EssentiallySports’ coverage of F1 and NASCAR, building a versatile and impactful sports portfolio.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT