Forgotten Aussie tennis star Bernard Tomic has revealed he’s reconsidering retiring at the end of the year after winning his first title in eight years on Monday. A former Wimbledon quarter-finalist and World No.17, the 33-year-old has been battling away in the tennis wilderness for a number of years and was way down at 813 in the rankings in 2022.
On Monday he won the Challenger tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska on the secondary circuit below the ATP Tour. It marked Tomic’s first title in professional tennis since 2018 after he’d lost his last three finals.
Bernard Tomic admitted he’s reconsidering plans to retire after winning his first title in eight years. Image: ATP/Getty
The Aussie veteran has jumped from 206 in the rankings to 170 after a 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) win over World No.150 Mark Lajal in the final. And speaking after taking out the title, he admitted he’s reconsidering his plans to retire this year.
Bernard Tomic has been battling away in the tennis wilderness.
“A couple of weeks ago I said this was probably my last year, and I guess I will reassess things now,” he said in a post-match interview. “I’ve been trying to win a Challenger for the last four years and finally won one. I’ve lost a couple of finals in the last couple of years and now that I’m back to 160-170 I’ve got to reassess things and try and have another crack.”
Part of Tomic’s decision will be the fact he also became a first-time father in April, with his partner Keely Hannah giving birth to their daughter Astara. He showed over the last week that he might still have what it takes to be a top-100 player.
Tennis fans happy for Bernard Tomic
Tennis fans were blown away by his charge to the title, and his admission that he might be backflipping on retirement. ‘The First Serve’ tennis account wrote on social media: “In August 2022, Bernard Tomic languished down at No.813 in the rankings.
“He could’ve quit, he could’ve complained, but instead, he wanted to grind it out on the Challenger Tour week after week. After 2878 days of waiting, Bernie finally has a piece of silverware to show for his efforts.”
A fan commented: “Congratulations to him for winning a challenger for the first time in so long. I hope this is the beginning of good things for him.” While another wrote: “Gotta give credit to 33yo Bernard Tomic. He hung in there and kept playing despite the losses when others would have given up and walked away from the sport.”