"Best journey of my life" says Paolo Lorenzi as he retires after 18 years on Tour

The 39-year old has been playing a very long time on the tour but only found moderate success at the highest level fairly late in his career. He was 35 when he achieved the highest ranking of his career (33) in 2017. Lorenzi first turned pro back in 2003 and since then he has won two titles in his career (one singles and one doubles).

His best-ever Grand Slam result came in 2017 when he reached the 4th round of the US Open in Singles and the quarterfinal of the French Open in doubles. Upon his loss to Janvier in the US Open qualifying round Lorenzi said:

"No more professional tennis. That’s what I was thinking, to finish in New York. I’ve always loved New York, so I think it’s a good place to stop. Everything was more difficult and I had a few injuries at the beginning of the year, so I knew that my body was not like before anymore. You have to know when it’s time to finish.”

For Lorenzi, this marks an end to a life he has known since very young. In the future, he won't leave tennis completely as he would like to stay in the game whether as a pundit or coach. He summed up his thoughts by saying:

“I would like them to remember me as a player who was trying his best every time on court and was fighting until the end. This was the best journey of my life. I really enjoyed every moment. Every time I was on court, it was a dream that came true.”