{"id":235740,"date":"2025-10-24T01:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T01:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235740\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T01:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T01:10:14","slug":"jack-sock-reveals-whether-he-regrets-retiring-from-tennis-to-play-pickleball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235740\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Sock reveals whether he regrets retiring from tennis to play pickleball"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>   <a class=\"fw\" href=\"https:\/\/profile.google.com\/cp\/Cg0vZy8xMXlnMTNoeXE4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> Follow us on Google Discover <\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Jack Sock made a drastic career change in 2023, which shocked the tennis world.<\/p>\n<p>After struggling with injuries for several years, Sock retired from tennis upon the conclusion of the 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/us-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Soon after, he joined the professional pickleball tour, becoming one of the first former tennis pros to do so.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"723\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2218525044-1024x723.jpg\" alt=\"Jack Sock playing pickleball in 2025\" class=\"wp-image-102554\" \/>Photo by Bruce Yeung\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>He has enjoyed success in the sport and is currently ranked sixth in the world in singles.<\/p>\n<p>But does he regret his decision to swap tennis for pickleball? <\/p>\n<p>Jack Sock has \u2018some regrets\u2019 over retiring from tennis to play pickleball<\/p>\n<p>During a recent interview, Sock explained why he decided to retire from tennis at the age of 30.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRetiring from tennis had a lot to do with becoming a father,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a huge part of the decision to stop playing. I knew once I became a dad, I wanted to be very present and be around as much as possible, and obviously, with tennis, as people know, the schedule is insane, you\u2019re travelling all year long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sock was then asked if he regrets his decision to retire from tennis at such a young age.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s weird putting your entire life into something and all the hours and time, and then it just being over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are some regrets for sure, I wish I had played a little bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1403794508-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Jack Sock looks on during a practice session in 2022\" class=\"wp-image-80628\" \/>Photo by Lewis Storey\/Getty Images for LTA<\/p>\n<p>Now age 33, Sock is one of the best pickleball players in the world and has big goals for the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019m more of a realist; I didn\u2019t have unrealistic expectations at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut now, a year in, I feel a lot more confident going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sock is currently playing in the Rate Vegas Cup event, where he has advanced to the round of 16.<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 Pickleball World Championships are scheduled to begin on Monday, November 3.<\/p>\n<p>Playing at the Olympic Games was an \u2018out-of-body experience\u2019 \u2013 Jack Sock<\/p>\n<p>Sock won several big titles during his tennis career, enjoying success in both singles and doubles.<\/p>\n<p>2011 US Open (Mixed doubles)2014 Wimbledon (Doubles)2015 Indian Wells (Doubles)2016 Shanghai Masters (Doubles)2017 Paris Masters (Singles)2018 Indian Wells (Doubles)2018 Wimbledon (Doubles)2018 US Open (Doubles)2018 ATP Finals (Doubles)2022 Indian Wells (Doubles)2022 Laver Cup (Singles\/Doubles)<\/p>\n<p>However, when reflecting on his career, none of the above titles gave him as much pride as representing his country at the 2016 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/olympics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, the Olympic was probably the most surreal moment for me. The whole team flies from Houston down to Rio, we get there and everything just hits, it doesn\u2019t even feel like real life,\u201d said Sock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOpening ceremony, I think, was the most surreal moment of my life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re walking in, the whole tennis squad was obviously in a group, right behind us was the NBA team, so it\u2019s like [Kevin] Durant and [Russel] Westbrook, and all these people right behind us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like a video game, the people in the stands, they look fake and animated. That\u2019s honestly what they look like when you\u2019re walking out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sock won gold in the mixed doubles alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands and bronze in the doubles with his close friend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/steve-johnson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Steve Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-589503194-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Jack Sock celebrates with his Olympic gold medal in 2016\" class=\"wp-image-138561\" \/>Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStanding on the podium and listening to the national anthem while they put the medals around me was the favorite moment, probably of my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust hearing the national anthem and representing your country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then, me and Stevie [Johnson] were able to get bronze in men\u2019s doubles; it was a weird, surreal, out-of-body experience, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sock was the only player to win multiple medals in tennis at the 2016 Olympics, but didn\u2019t return to compete in Tokyo five years later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover Jack Sock made a drastic career change in 2023, which shocked the tennis&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[6733,49,48,33675,82,593],"class_list":["post-235740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-atp","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-jack-sock","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}