Tim van Rijthoven announces retirement

Retirements

Van Rijthoven announces retirement: 'An incredible amount of pride and gratitude'

Dutchman won lone ATP title on home soil in surprise 2022 run

Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Tim van Rijthoven produced some of his best tennis at Wimbledon in 2022 by reaching the fourth round. By ATP Staff

Tim van Rijthoven recently announced his retirement from professional tennis, sharing the news with an emotional post on social media.

The Dutchman notably became one of the sport’s best underdog stories in recent memory in 2022, when he won the ATP 250 in ’s-Hertogenbosch by ousting three Top 15 players. Van Rijthoven entered that week as No. 205 in the PIF ATP Rankings, without any tour-level match wins. He followed his title run with a dream fourth-round showing at Wimbledon, falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Van Rijthoven, 28, is retiring from pro tennis due to a persistent elbow injury.

“With a heavy heart, I have to share something today that I have been trying to process for a long time,” the former No. 101 wrote in Dutch on Instagram. “My professional tennis career is forced to end.

“Due to a stubborn elbow injury that, despite all the rehabilitation and medical journeys, fails to recover, I am forced to say goodbye to the sport I’ve lived my entire life. I would have liked to see it differently. I would have liked to say goodbye on my own terms, with a racket in hand and the audience in the stands. But sometimes the body decides differently than the head. Yet I look back with an incredible amount of pride and gratitude.”

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