Fabio Fognini says goodbye to tennis: "I suffered so much"

Tennis bids farewell to Fabio Fognini: the racquet ace has decided to retire and announced it during the press conference organized at Wimbledon. “This is the best way to say goodbye. The last years of my career have been difficult, it is time to be honest with myself” he said.

“I don&#8220t want to go back, the match with Carlos Alcaraz was my last. I love this sport and the motivation is still high, tennis has accompanied me all my life. I have so many good memories that I keep in my heart, something special. This day I knew would come”.

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Fognini&#8217s idea, however, was another one: “The goal was to retire in Monte-Carlo next year but life is like that and I am happy to say goodbye at this time. I will not participate in any more tournaments, I leave today. This sport has accompanied me all my life and will continue to do so, I will forever cherish so many wonderful memories. I played in the era of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, the best players in history. I was lucky to live through this era”.

“The night before the match with Alcaraz my desire was to have fun and play my best tennis possible. All the elements led me to this decision. I have suffered so much from injuries in recent years. After big injuries, at my age, it becomes more and more difficult, and I think this is the best decision I can make. I played in the most important field in the world, it&#8217s the perfect farewell and I couldn”t ask for anything else.
“I have been doing this job for 20 years and I don&#8217t know how to do anything else, however, I think I couldn&#8217t ask for a better exit. I have been struggling a lot lately, injuries have led me to win few matches and lose ranking points. It also takes courage to say enough. After two sets with Alcaraz I was shattered, but the’inertia of the match and the desire to compete made me continue and it created this wonderful setting” said Fabio Fognini.

“I think it was a defeat and victory at the same time, I have never been able to experience it so intensely. It was beautiful especially the finish: the way I left the Central and the way I went to the locker room. These things are worth more than a defeat, and doing it on this court, in front of my family, is worth more than any match won”.

A champion like Fabio Fognini certainly has many lessons to teach the new generation: “It takes a lot of dedication and a lot of sacrifice, but also a lot of patience. Getting to be a professional is not easy and this is true for all sports. For this desire and dedication I have to thank those who believed in me from the beginning, all the teachers who followed me from a very young age. I always told it like it was. I made mistakes, but it was part of a very long journey. There have been more ups than downs. Today Start a new life off the field and I’m willing to give advice to anyone who will listen, even listening to the bad things. Telling it like it is sometimes leads to confrontation, but you come out stronger. I owe this to my father, who was very direct and unabashed”.