Emotions filled the air as David Goffin made his return to the clay-courts of Paris for his final run in the French Open. He was drawn against Taiwanese tennis player Tseng Chun-hsin in the first round of qualifying and put in a solid performance. The Belgian comfortably won the match 6-3, 6-1 in 73 minutes to advance to the second round of the qualifiers. It was evident that this result was very important for Goffin as he couldn’t keep a check on his emotions during his post-match interview.

The 35-year-old broke down in tears as the crowd present at the Court Suzanne-Lenglen chanted his name repeatedly and gave him a standing ovation. When asked about the value of this victory, Goffin had quite an emotional answer in store.

“In 2012, it was on this court that I really was brought to the wider attention of the public with a superb match when I was 21 years old. That really kick-started my career and to find myself here for the last Roland Garros, even in the first round of qualifications, in a packed stadium like this with a crazy atmosphere… Thank you all,” he said.

For context, Goffin had entered the 2012 French Open as a lucky loser after Gael Monfils had withdrawn due to an injury. He had then gone on to become the first lucky loser in 17 years to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Despite being eliminated by Roger Federer in four sets, Goffin had managed to leave his mark at the French Open.

Coming back, the Belgian also reflected on his performance against Chun-hsin later on and remarked that he was quite nervous when the match was about to commence. However, he was able to calm himself down and as the match progressed and was able to secure a straight-set win.

“Today, everything was there – the level was there, the emotion was there. It was not easy at the beginning of the match when I heard my name, when I stepped on the court. I already felt my heartbeat getting a bit higher. At the end I played really well and the speech at the end was a lot of emotions. It was an amazing moment for me, something that I’ve never felt on the court in my career,” he told rolandgarros.com.

Having gotten past the first round of qualifying, Goffin is now scheduled to take on Toby Samuel in his next match at the Roland Garros. The 35-year-old needs to win three qualifying rounds in order to reach the main draw, which won’t be an easy task to say the least.

The former World No. 7 had announced that he would be retiring after the conclusion of the 2026 season earlier in March. Having turned pro back in 2009, Goffin is all set to bring down the curtains on what has been a remarkable 17-year career. After announcing his retirement through a video on Instagram, Goffin had revealed that his physical condition had a lot to do with his decision.

David Goffin opens up on his sudden retirement

“Difficult, and even harder to admit to yourself. Sometimes you tell yourself: ‘I’ll keep going, why wouldn’t I?’ But sometimes the motivation and the body go in opposite directions. And then you wonder, for training sessions: ‘It’s fine, if I train once, it’s not a big deal, I feel good,'” he had told the press after his defeat to Emilio Nava at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Goffin had further explained that he wasn’t motivated to keep on playing and added that it eventually became easy for him to call time on his career.

“But little by little, you realize you no longer want to do it, that the motivation is no longer at its peak. And you conclude that once you’ve realized deep down that it’s time, and you’re no longer lying to yourself, the choice becomes easy,” he added.

Goffin has had a very difficult season so far and currently has a win-loss record of 2-7. The Belgian was recovering from a knee injury in January, resulting in him withdrawing from the Australian Open and commencing his season from February. Not to mention that he has failed to make it past the first round in most of the tournaments that he has played so far. He will now be aiming to end the cycle of disappointing results at the Roland Garros.

Will Goffin be able to make it to the main draw of the French Open, or will he end up getting eliminated in the qualifying rounds? Let us know what you think in the comments!