Recently retired ATP stars including Tsonga and Simon honoured at ATP Finals

The ATP stagged a special stage to honour all the players who retired from tennis this year including Tsonga and Simon.

An initiative by ATP Chief Andrea Gaudenzi gathered all the notable players who retired from tennis this year. Among those attending were Gilles Simon and Jo Wilfried Tsonga who said goodbye to tennis. Simon said:

“It’s an honour to be here- I have been part of this Tour for more than 20 years now. I had the chance to play the Masters (now the Nitto ATP Finals). It was not here but in Shanghai [in 2008]. I had the chance to play this fantastic event once in my life and I’m really happy to come and have this ceremony here. It’s really a great feeling.”

Another player who was there was Tommy Robredo, former number 5 who said:

“It’s a pleasure. When they sent me an email telling me that they wanted to invite me here to celebrate my retirement, it was a pleasure to realise that they still remember me."

Another player who retired this year was Stakhovsky who is currently serving in the Ukrainian military. He walked on in military colours to highlight the war in going on in his country. His words were:

“It’s pretty special of course. Gilles Simon and Tsonga, and [Robert] Lindstedt and [Horia] Tecau, and all these great doubles players, it’s a great bunch of individuals. We spent tonnes of time together on the Tour, playing against each other and competing, and spending time on the [ATP Player] Council with Gilles a lot. Of course, it’s great, it’s nice, but in my given circumstances I feel a little out of place here.”