John Milman
confirmed that the 2024 season will be his last as a professional before
retiring from the sport.
The
34-year-old Australian tennis player has dealt with injuries in the 2023
season, preventing him from maintaining regularity on the ATP Tour, and he is
currently ranked World No. 437.
Milman
reached his career-high ranking of World No. 33 after a remarkable campaign at
the 2018 US Open, where he defeated the 14th seed Fabio Fognini and the World
No. 2 Roger Federer but eventually fell to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic
in straight sets.
This year,
he has only played five tournaments, with four of them taking place between
January and February. He returned to play in the US Open, but he exited in the
second round of the qualifiers.
“Unfortunately
age has caught up to me. The body is really broken down,” Millman told 9News
Queensland on Thursday.
“It’s been
a fantastic career, but I’m ready to try something else.”
The
Australian can boast in his career of reaching the final of the ATP 500 Japan
Open, where he also fell to the 24-times Grand Slam champion. Additionally, he
has represented Australia in the Davis Cup and has had two participations in
the Olympic Games:
“I think at
the end of every year you kind of assess where you’re at mentally and
physically,” he explained about his decision to retire.
“At the end
of last year and (after) having quite an encouraging Australian Open summer
series, I was ready to go again, but one back injury after another has really
halted my progression this season.
“For me,
the way I play, I have to be up there playing 11 months a year and I’m just no
longer able to do so.
“I can
still play at a high level I feel, but not day-in, day-out, the body is not
letting me.
“All those
years of being physical on the court has caught up with me,” he concluded.
