2026 is turning out to be the year of goodbyes when it comes to tennis. With the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils, and David Goffin having decided to hang up their rackets at the end of the season, another name has now joined them on the growing list. Former World No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut has decided to bring his 17-year-long career to a close at the end of the ongoing season. He made the announcement public through an emotional Instagram post.

“There are decisions that are not easy, but they are born from serenity and heart: the 2026 season will be my last as a professional tennis player,” he wrote in the post. “I’ve been living a dream for many years. I’ve given everything I had in every practice session and every match. Now I feel the time has come to start saying goodbye, to enjoy every tournament differently and to end this phase of my life with gratitude for my beloved tennis,” the post further read.

“I want to live every last point this year. To feel the support of the people, to compete one more time in the tournaments that have been a part of my life, and to say goodbye on the court, which is where I’ve always been the happiest.”

“Thank you to my family, my team, my friends, my sponsors, and everyone who has been there for me during these years. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all the fans who have supported me every step of the way,” he concluded.

Having become pro back in 2005, Bautista Agut is known to be a versatile player who is comfortable with playing on any type of court. The Spaniard has won at least one title on hard, clay, grass, and indoor hard court. However, grass courts in particular have been his strong point as he has a 67.1% win rate on the surface.

Bautista Agut’s first of the 12 ATP title triumphs had come in 2014 at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships held in Hertogenbosch. On the other hand, his best run in a Grand Slam came at Wimbledon in 2019, where he made it all the way to the semis but was defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Despite no title wins since 2024, Bautista Agut has managed to maintain his place in the top 100 of the ATP rankings. The veteran is currently the fifth-best-ranked Spanish player at No. 93. He is only behind the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Jaume Munar, and Rafael Jodar.

However, Bautista Agut hasn’t really looked at his best when it comes to the 2026 season and has found it quite hard to rack up wins in any of the tournaments that he has played so far.

Roberto Bautista Agut’s disappointing 2026 season so far

Bautista Agut had begun his campaign for the year with the ASB Classic but had failed to make it past the first round after being handed a 3-6, 6-7 loss by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. He would then face another first-round elimination, this time at the Australian Open, as Shang Juncheng defeated him in four sets.

The Open Occitanie in Montpellier didn’t prove to be much better for Bautista Agut, and he exited the tournament in the second round after being defeated by Martin Damm Jr. Another first-round exit followed at the Rotterdam Open, where Cameron Norrie defeated the Spaniard in straight sets.

Bautista Agut would then be in action at the Indian Wells Masters and would start the tournament on an impressive note. He recorded his second win of the year by defeating Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. However, the 38-year-old would fail to make it past the second round once again as Jack Draper won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

After repeated failures in ATP events, Bautista Agut would try his luck at the Cap Cana Challenger. However, things wouldn’t get any better for him, as a second-round loss to Valentin Royer is what followed. He would face yet another second-round exit, this time at the Miami Open, where he was eliminated by Karen Khachanov.

Bautista Agut’s poor results would continue on clay as he got knocked out of the Bucharest Open in the first round by Titouan Droguet. Due to his low ranking, he had to compete in the qualifiers at the Monte Carlo Masters. Though the Spaniard did defeat Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-3 in the first qualifier, he was then handed a 6-7, 6-7 defeat by Alexander Shevchenko.

However, Bautista Agut managed to slip into the main draw as a lucky loser. It was here that he was drawn against Matteo Berrettini. It would prove to be a forgettable outing for the veteran as he retired from the match after just 23 minutes with the first set at 0-4. He appeared to be physically restricted during the fourth game and wasn’t moving freely on the court. He eventually pulled the plug after losing a point to Berrettini in the fifth game.

Likely, Bautista Agut didn’t participate in the Barcelona Open due to fitness issues. It remains to be seen if he will be able to return to action at the Madrid Masters that is set to commence on April 22.