American player John Isner announced on social media that he will retire from professional tennis after competing in the Grand Slam US Open 2023 (August 28 to September 10). The American’s 17th consecutive appearance in his home major will be his last.
“There comes a time in every athlete’s career that they have to decide to hang it up. For me, that time is now. I didn’t come [to] this decision lightly, but I feel it is the right way to go. When I left the University of Georgia in 2007, there was no way I could have imagined playing 17 years on the ATP Tour,” Isner posted on Instagram. “Of course, there are countless matches I wish I could have back, but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish. The journey was nothing short of incredible,” he added. The 38-year-old at Flushing Meadows will draw to a close his illustrious career, during which he has won 16 ATP Tour titles, won 488 tour-level matches and competed in the ATP Finals (in 2018). Isner will be remembered as one of the best servers in sports history. He now holds the record for the most career aces with 14,411 according to ATP Stats. Only five players have surpassed 10,000 aces, and no other player has amassed more than 14,000 aces. From 2010 through 2019, the American placed in the top 20 of the year-end ATP Rankings ten times in a row, eight of those times as the top-ranked American (2012–16 and 2018–20).