‘Old School Warrior’ Robredo Sets Barcelona Farewell

Former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo announced on Thursday that he plans to retire from professional tennis after the upcoming Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the ATP 500 event taking place from 16 to 24 April, bringing an end to a 23-year career.

The player from Hostalric in Catalonia, Spain, who turns 40 in May, will leave behind him one of the best careers in his nation’s recent tennis history. Holder of 12 ATP Tour titles, a seven-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist and member of the winning Davis Cup teams of 2004, 2008 and 2009, he will not be easily forgotten on the ATP Tour.

“I’ve known I was going to retire for a while, but the pandemic put everything back,” Robredo explained in conversation with Spanish news agency EFE. The Spaniard, who currently sits at No. 343 in the ATP Rankings, was joined at the announcement of his retirement by his good friend David Ferrer, director of the Barcelona tournament. “I wanted both my friends and family to be there on the day of my retirement.”

The Catalan will be bidding to bring his career to a magical end at a venue that has been special to him throughout. Robredo won in Barcelona in 2004 and reached the final in 2006, and is looking forward to one last meeting with the fans that turn out to say goodbye to one of the Tour’s most-respected players. “It will be spectacular to see my friends at [the Barcelona tournament],” said Robredo, who spent over 100 weeks in the Top 10 from 2006 to 2007. “You recognise their voices and it’ll be a magical feeling.”

After more than two decades competing professionally, the time to start a new chapter has arrived for Robredo. He welcomed his first child in March 2021 and has an exciting future to look forward to.

“Now it will be time to dedicate myself to my family, especially my daughter,” said Robredo. “Until now I’ve never had anything more fulfilling than tennis, but now I’ve found it. I want to be at home with my family and my daughter. Now I know that I don’t want to miss the first time she walks or says ‘papa’.

“I’m an old school warrior,” added the Spaniard, who played in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, as the Nitto ATP Finals was then known. “I’ve really looked after myself and I’ve stayed relatively free from injuries. I’ve been able to keep playing because I love tennis and I don’t struggle to get up in the mornings to go and train. Until the day we had to isolate, I gave it 100%.

With almost 900 matches under his belt and a well-known determination to succeed, Robredo will walk away having maintained his work ethic until his final day on Tour. The Spaniard has only played two official matches in 2022 after several seasons competing on the ATP Challenger Tour but is still putting in the hard work for an emotional goodbye in Barcelona. “I want to be competitive on the day of my retirement,” he said.

“I have no plans afterwards, but another phase will come, and it will certainly involve tennis,” added Robredo. “I will do something that excites me, and I can dedicate myself to with the same passion I have put into tennis.

“It’s not hard or difficult for me. I’m doing it because I want to and it’s time. I’ve been doing this for many years, since I was a little boy. I’ve given my all.”

Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on ATPTour.com/es