Thomaz Bellucci hangs up his rackets, announces retirement from tennis - "I feel happy and a little bit sad too"

Life after tennis is not something that worries Thomaz Bellucci, who played his last ATP Tour match on Wednesday at the 2023 Rio Open.

However, the clarity he now feels over his future is in stark contrast to the concern he felt at 16 and 17 years old, when he was close to an early retirement from the professional game. A left-knee injury sidelined him for almost a year and he was close to never coming back.

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Back then, it took him six months to recover from surgery, followed by a long period of uncertainty. He started to read books on economy and thought about dedicating his time to his studies.

“I was in a lot of doubt,” Bellucci recalled to ATPTour.com. “I didn’t know if the best thing was to continue in tennis. I wanted to have fun doing other things.”

His love for tennis and the dream inspired by Brazilian legend Gustavo Kuerten would be hard to let go of at 17 when he was considering a life away from the sport.

“I didn’t want to have regrets in the future. I had to try a little more,” Bellucci said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to recover and go back and try again, but if in two years I haven’t played well, I’ll retire.’ That’s what I did, and at 19 I was already among the Top 200. I made a good choice. That moment taught me perseverance and to always be strong.”

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His decision laid the foundations for a brilliant career. In 2010, as World No. 21, he became the second-highest ranked Brazilian man ever, only behind his hero Kuerten. Bellucci reached eight ATP Tour finals, winning four of them, all on clay: Gstaad (2009, 2012), Santiago (2010), and Geneva (2015). He also amassed 200 tour-level wins, two of which came against Top-5 opponents: World No. 4 Andy Murray in Madrid in 2011, and No.5 Kei Nishikori in Rio in 2017.

However, multiple injuries have gradually pulled him away from competition over the last three years. Two new issues early in 2023 confirmed that it was time for him to hang up his racket. The end of the road came on Wednesday, in front of his home fans, when he lost to Sebastian Baez in the first round of one of his favorite tournaments.

“It’s the right time,” Bellucci said, not without a hint of nostalgia in his voice, but also with the peace of mind of someone who is ending a chapter of their life having given their all. “I feel happy and a little bit sad too. Tennis was in my life for many years, it’s not easy to stop playing. But I’ve enjoyed myself so much, and my body is now feeling the years and the sacrifices I’ve made. It’s time to do something else, experience new things.”