Botic van de Zandschulp contemplates retirement after French Open defeat: ‘Too many bad days’

Botic van de Zandschulp has revealed that he is considering retirement at the age of 28 after losing in the first round of the French Open to Fabio Fognini, with a score of 1-6, 1-6, 5-7. The Dutch player admitted that he has been questioning his future in tennis due to having ‘too many bad days’ over the past year.

Van de Zandschulp, who once reached a career-high ranking of world No. 22, has fallen out of the top 30 and now sits at world No. 102. He entered the French Open with a poor 9-13 record in 2024 and has not managed to win consecutive matches since the Paris Masters in early November 2023.

The Dutchman commented that he has been questioning whether to continue his career for some time. The painful loss to Fognini, where the Italian was clearly superior, adds to the poor run of form he has been experiencing since last year: “This was the worst match of my life,” the devastated van de Zandschulp told NOS on Monday evening. “Whether I'm thinking about quitting? Who knows, who knows. I certainly doubt that. That's something I'm thinking about.”

The former US Open quarterfinalist acknowledged to media in his home country that he is considering leaving tennis due to his poor performance over the past year: “A lot has happened in the last year, also off the court. These are things that play a role.”

“I think you should have fun in everything you do. Of course everyone has bad days, but if there are too many, you have to question yourself. These are thoughts that I have had before, years ago. That is something that has always been with me. It is a struggle.”