Gasquet and Fognini’s Poetic Exits in 2025
The 2025 ATP season closes with Richard Gasquet and Fabio Fognini among those bowing out, their careers a blend of tactical finesse and raw emotion on courts from clay to grass. As part of the tour’s annual reflections, these retirements highlight the mental and strategic battles that defined an era.
The serve echoes one last time across the red clay of Paris and the green lawns of London, marking the end of paths carved through decades of high-stakes rallies. In this wave of 2025 ATP retirements, Richard Gasquet and Fabio Fognini stand out for their flair amid the farewells, part of our annual ‘Best Of’ series that traces the season’s pivotal moments from upsets to unbreakable spirits. Diego Schwartzman and Fernando Verdasco opened the conversation in Part 1, setting a tone of resilience now echoed by these veterans who turned personal pressures into on-court poetry.
Gasquet’s one-handed backhand, a signature slice through the air, defined rallies where he redirected pace with impossible angles, often feeding into a sharp forehand crosscourt to shift momentum. Fognini’s game, laced with underspin lobs and sudden net rushes, kept opponents guessing, his bursts of focus cutting through the tour’s grueling schedule. These weren’t mere exits; they were culminations of careers where every point tested the edge between brilliance and burnout.
“It was the perfect way to say goodbye to this sport,” Fognini said at Wimbledon. “I was able to play in an era that probably is going to be the best era forever in the sport. I played against Roger, against Rafa, against Nole. Winning a Slam for me was impossible. I have to be honest.”
Gasquet’s enduring backhand legacy
A nine-year-old Richard Gasquet wound up on the February 1996 cover of Tennis Magazine, his one-handed backhand promising the artistry France craved under that teasing headline: “Le champion que la France attend?” Twenty-nine years later, he exited at Roland Garros, falling to Jannik Sinner in a final match that mixed nostalgia with the weight of unmet Slam dreams. His junior triumphs—Les Petits As in 1999, world No. 1 at 16 in 2002—led to an ATP debut win at the Monte-Carlo Masters as a 15-year-old, where early crosscourt winners on clay hinted at the tactical depth to come.
Breaking into the Top 100 on 29 September 2003, Gasquet held his spot for nearly 19 years from 18 April 2005 through 14 January 2024, peaking at No. 7 with 609 tour-level wins, the most for any Frenchman. His 16 titles came from meticulous play, regripping his racket at every changeover to maintain feel during long exchanges, deploying inside-out backhands to open angles on slower surfaces. At 38, he leaves a blueprint for blending aggression and precision, his forehand 1–2 patterns pressuring returns in ways that influenced a generation’s baseline craft.
Fognini’s chaotic brilliance unfolds
Fabio Fognini debuted in 2006 Buenos Aires, stretching Carlos Moya to three sets with teasing drop shots and flat forehands that disrupted rhythm from the baseline. His career unfolded like a tense rally, inner conflicts fueling petulant outbursts but also explosive wins, as he climbed to No. 9 and claimed nine titles, including the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters 1000. With 426 tour-level victories and 17 over Top 10 players, highlights like his 2015 US Open five-set turnaround against Rafael Nadal and the 2017 Rome upset of Andy Murray showcased his ability to vary spin depths mid-match.
At Wimbledon, he pushed Carlos Alcaraz to five sets in a first-round thriller, mixing slice approaches with down-the-line passes on grass that rewarded his quick adjustments. The crowd’s energy amplified his defiance, turning potential frustration into a farewell roar at 38. Fognini’s path reminds players that emotional volatility, when harnessed, can turn tactical risks into ranking-defining edges.
Edmund’s peak amid mounting injuries
Kyle Edmund crested in 2018, capturing Antwerp with serve-volley combos that exploited indoor hard courts’ pace, reaching No. 14 and storming to the Australian Open semifinals. There, he toppled Kevin Anderson in the opener with deep returns forcing errors, then outmaneuvered Grigor Dimitrov—riding high from his Nitto ATP Finals win—in the quarters using low slices to counter flashy groundstrokes. His second title followed in New York 2020, but surgeries in November 2020, March 2021, and May 2022 shifted focus to rehab, testing resolve against the tour’s physical toll.
At 30, he stepped away, the mental strain of uneven comebacks evident in his reflections on a journey marked by highs and persistent setbacks. Edmund’s story underscores how one injury can alter surface preferences, his flat game thriving on faster courts yet vulnerable to clay’s slide.
“To look at the journey and try and bite size it as much as possible is hard. It just felt right with things and my injuries in the past,” Edmund said. “Especially around 2020, 2021, I had three surgeries and I spent four or five years trying to come back and had ups and downs along the way. But [I] never [was] fully able to get back to maybe my goal and my target. That was the main reason for the decision, but over the next weeks and months, it’ll be a nice time to reflect, do different things, spend more time at home with family and just sort of appreciate the journey.”
Bopanna’s doubles ascent from afar
Rohan Bopanna closed a 20-year run in November 2025, the former No. 1 doubles player amassing 26 titles, including the 2024 Australian Open with Matthew Ebden that made him the oldest to top the rankings at 43. Raised in Coorg’s remote coffee lands, he drew mental fortitude from pioneers like Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan, the Amritraj brothers, plus Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, whose Davis Cup discipline shaped his partnerships. His 2023 mixed doubles final push with Sania Mirza highlighted adaptability, serve-volley tactics evolving across surfaces to sustain longevity.
“Coming from a small town like Coorg to travelling all over the world, becoming World No. 1, especially at the age of 43, it’s a journey way beyond what I imagined,” Bopanna said. “The biggest thing, I’m most grateful to each and every partner, every match, every city, and everyone who supported me over the years.”
These bonds turned isolation into strength, his net poaching precise under partnership pressures, leaving a legacy of late-career surges that redefine doubles timelines.
Dodig’s consistent net dominance
Ivan Dodig ended at the August 2025 US Open, a doubles mainstay with 24 titles, three majors, and six Masters 1000s, reaching No. 2 in doubles and No. 29 in singles. Breaking Top 100 singles near 24, he sustained for 15-16 years, his 2011 Zagreb win on home clay blending baseline rallies with volleys. Stuns like the 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) over Rafael Nadal in Canada, plus victories against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic, and Marin Cilic, showed tactical versatility in tiebreak clutch.
“Usually players break Top 100 at the age 20, 21. I broke Top 100 [when I was] almost 24. But after that, I stayed there for a long time, for 15, 16 years,” Dodig told ATPTour.com in November. “I achieved a lot of things, and played so much tennis in singles and doubles. So it’s a quite long career for me, and I’m really happy about it and really had a good time all these years.”
At 40, his endurance across formats offers a model for blending singles grit with doubles synergy, influencing how future pairs navigate mixed calendars.
Van Rijthoven’s sudden underdog halt
Tim van Rijthoven‘s 2022 breakout saw him win ‘s-Hertogenbosch as No. 205, upsetting three Top 15s with heavy topspin forehands and inside-in winners on grass. His Wimbledon fourth round followed, ending against Novak Djokovic, the eventual champion, in a display of aggressive returns that promised sustained climbs. But a persistent elbow injury forced retirement at 28 in July 2025, cutting short a career built on rapid tactical shifts.
“Due to a stubborn elbow injury that, despite all the rehabilitation and medical journeys, fails to recover, I am forced to say goodbye to the sport I’ve lived my entire life,” Van Rijthoven wrote on social media in July. “I would have liked to see it differently. I would have liked to say goodbye on my own terms, with a racket in hand and the audience in the stands. But sometimes the body decides differently than the head. Yet I look back with an incredible amount of pride and gratitude.”
His abrupt end highlights the fragility beneath breakout stories, urging emerging talents to balance bold patterns with injury safeguards as the tour pushes forward.
These 2025 retirements weave a narrative of adaptation and heart, from Gasquet’s elegant angles to Bopanna’s improbable peaks, signaling shifts in how players approach the mental and physical marathon ahead.
