Tennis legend to take exit! Leander Paes announces retirement after 2020

New Delhi, December 26: Indian tennis ace Leander Paes has announced that 2020 will be his last year as a professional tennis player. Leander announced on Twitter that he will be picking and choosing tournaments next year to meet his fans all around the world. The 46-year old will bid adieu to the sport after next season. 

 

 

 

"I want to announce 2020 as my farewell year as a pro tennis player. I am looking forward to the 2020 tennis calendar where I will be playing a few select tournaments, travelling with my team and celebrating with all my friends and fans around the world. It is all of you who have inspired me to become me," said Paes. 

 

Leander, who made his Olympic debut in 1992, will look for one final flourish at Tokyo Olympics next year. The Indian has made 7 appearances in a row at the Olympics making him the only tennis player ever to do so. 

 

Paes is targeting to be the only tennis player in the history of the sport to play eight successive Olympics. In a career spanning nearly three decades, during which he also overcame a brain tumour, Tokyo Olympics (provided he qualifies) is expected to be his swansong.

 

 

 

He is the only tennis player from the country to have won a singles Olympic medal as he grabbed a historic bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games, beating Argentina's Fernando Meligeni in the play-off.

 

With compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, he created an awe-inspiring partnership during which they dominated the circuit in late 1990s, winning three Grand Slam titles together and claiming the number one rank.