Nicolas Mahut recently called an end to his illustrious career in tennis at the Paris Masters. It has been some time for him to digest the emotional send off from the sport, which he wrote in a touching tribute.
The Frenchman is widely recognised as one of the best doubles players to grace the court. This could be represented by his five Grand Slams he lifted throughout his career, spread across all four tournaments. He was formerly the world number one for a total of 39 weeks between 2016 and 2017, around the time where he was reaching the peak of his powers. Adding to these triumphs, he also tasted success in two ATP Finals events along with seven Masters 1000 triumphs and a Davis Cup title throughout a stunning career.
He has been around for a long time, making his Grand Slam debut back in 2000 – that was before Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner were born. His career spanned for over 25 years, but now at the age of 43 he felt like the time was right to hang up his racket. He left the sport partnered with Grigor Dimitrov as they succumbed to defeat at the first stage against Hugo Nys and his former doubles partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Mahut says goodbye with profound messageWhile he confirmed his retirement weeks ago, he finally took to Instagram where he shared a heartfelt message to his family, team and fans for a glorious tennis career.“Several weeks have gone by, and little by little I’m descending from my cloud realising what really happened at Paris Masters. 25 years. 25 years of career coming to an end. So much joy, sweat, points played, sometimes disappointments, many encounters, but above all a tremendous journey travelled. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this journey, near and far. Thank you to my family for always supporting me. Thank you to the French Tennis Federation for training me since my junior years and allowing me to say goodbye in the most beautiful way possible. Thank you Grigor Dimitrov for sharing the court with me for my last game. And above all, thank you, the audience, for accompanying me all these years. This is not goodbye, just see you later, because I know I’ll never be too far,” he wrote on Instagram.Ever-lasting impact in tennis
Despite the five-Grand Slam titles and accolades he collected, Mahut may be remembered best by his iconic clash against John Isner in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon. The pair, both known for their big serves, were having trouble to find a way past each other. This led to one of the most memorable matches in tennis history. There were 216 aces between them in a tie which lasted over three days and exactly 11 hours and five minutes. Unfortunately for Mahut, he would leave SW19 with nothing after Isner finally got the better of him 70-68 in the final set. Rules were changed at Wimbledon so that scenario would never occur again.
While Mahut did play singles, his main focus was doubles. He reached his maiden Grand Slam final in 2013 in front of a home crowd but lost out to the star-studded Bryan brothers – Mike and Bob. He would then begin a fantastic partnership with Pierre-Hugues Herbert. They won their first Grand Slam title in the 2015 US Open. Victories in the other three events followed in the culminating years, with his final major triumph emerging at Roland Garros in 2021. He now focuses on coaching French player Benjamin Bonzi and is the sports director for the Open Rennes Challenger.