Bernard Tomic experienced a humiliating stumble during a Challenger event in Chicago, leading to an unexpected defeat against world No. 424 Stefan Dostanic.
The Australian player tripped over his own feet at match point and subsequently retired from the game. Elsewhere in tennis, Ben Shelton won the men’s Canadian Open final on Thursday, with Victoria Mboko beating Naomi Osaka in the women’s event.
Tomic has been grinding away on the ATP Challenger circuit for several years now. The 32-year-old, who was once a Wimbledon quarterfinalist and ranked as world No. 17, earned around $64,000 in prize money last year, which isn’t an awful lot for a professional tennis player.
As recently as 2023, he was ranked outside the top 1,200. Despite this, Tomic is determined to retire on his own terms and continues to compete in lower-tier tournaments.
However, ahead of a probable entry into U.S. Open qualifying, Tomic suffered a significant setback in Chicago. After winning a challenging first set 7-6, he was leading 5-4 in the second set.
Tomic was at match point and seemed poised for a first-round victory. But while returning Dostanic’s serve, he inexplicably tripped over his own right foot, falling flat on his back on the hard court with his arms covering his face.
With Dostanic leading 2-0 in the deciding set, Tomic chose to retire from the match, citing fatigue as the reason for his withdrawal.
Following the next rankings update, Tomic is expected to secure a spot in the world’s top 200. He is likely to participate in the qualifying rounds of the upcoming U.S. Open.
Tomic once declared he had no passion for tennis and even sparked controversy by stating he was “bored” during his 2017 Wimbledon campaign. This admission came six years after the four-time ATP champion achieved his sole Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance at the prestigious All England Club.
Yet in a June interview, Tomic revealed a different perspective: “Without tennis, I don’t know what I would do. I’m sitting about 200 in the world, or whatever, and my goal is to be top 100, and then I can retire. It’s more of a statement, that sort of thing, so let’s see if I can do it. It’s the only thing I’m good at.
“I’ve been good at it for almost three decades, so it gets me going. I can still play decent. I’m not in my prime like I was, but that’s why I’m challenging myself to get back there one more time. And then retire happy and guilt-free.”