FILE PHOTO: Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 29, 2024 France's Richard Gasquet during his second round match against Italy's Jannik Sinner REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
(Reuters) - Former world number seven Richard Gasquet will retire after the French Open next year, the Frenchman announced on Thursday, bringing the curtain down on a 22-year career.
The 38-year-old is a twice Wimbledon semi-finalist and a one-time U.S. Open semi-finalist. His best outing at Roland Garros came in 2016 when he reached the quarter-finals.
Gasquet has won 16 ATP Tour titles, with the latest coming in Auckland last year.
"I think that it is the best moment for me to do it," Gasquet told French daily L'Equipe.
"It is the best tournament to do it. It's magnificent, we have the chance being French to be able to stop in these kind of incredible places.
"An end, it's always complicated, all the former great players always told me it's not easy to announce. You never know when, how, where. Here, in any case, it is obvious."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
