ATP player who beat Taylor Fritz on grass announces his retirement from tennis at the age of just 28 

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Taylor Fritz is now one of the best grass court players on the ATP Tour.

Fritz won two grass court titles coming into Wimbledon this year at ATP 250 tournaments in Stuttgart and Eastbourne.

The American has been able to bring this form into the grass court major, with Fritz reaching his first Wimbledon semi-final.

Although Fritz is now beating most players on grass, there was once a time that he lost to a wildcard who has now announced his retirement.

Tim van Rijthoven announces his retirement from professional tennis

The 2022 grass court summer saw the rise of Dutch player Tim van Rijthoven, who had never won a main ATP Tour match before at 25 years old.

Van Rijthoven, who was ranked at world number 205 at the time, arrived at his home grass court tournament in Hertogenbosch after receiving a wildcard.

He would win his first ATP Tour match against Matthew Ebden before shocking the likes of Fritz, Hugo Gaston, and Felix Auger-Aliassime to become an unlikely finalist.

Van Rijthoven would complete his dream week by beating Daniil Medvedev to become the first Dutch male winner of the Libema Open in 19 years.

After winning his first ever title, Van Rijthoven was rewarded with a wildcard for Wimbledon and took advantage of it by reaching the fourth round in his first main draw appearance in a Grand Slam.

Van Rijthoven’s dream would come to an end at the hands of top seed Novak Djokovic, who would go on to win the title.

However, things have not gone so smoothly for the Dutchman since then, who has played only 11 matches since the end of the 2022 season due to an elbow injury.

Van Rijthoven played his last match in Roland Garros qualifying and has now announced his retirement from professional tennis in an emotional statement on Instagram.

“Dear all. With a heavy heart, I have to share something today that I have been trying to process for a long time: My professional tennis career is forced to end,” announced the 28-year-old.

“Due to a stubborn elbow injury that, despite all the rehabilitation and medical journeys, fails to recover, I am forced to say goodbye to the sport I’ve lived my entire life.

“I would have liked to see it differently. I would have liked to say goodbye on my own terms, with a racket in hand and the audience in the stands. But sometimes the body decides differently than the head.

“Yet I look back with an incredible amount of pride and gratitude. From a little boy in mama’s arms with big dreams to this. Winning the Libéma Open in 2022, my first ATP title, in front of my own audience in Rosmalen – will forever be one of the best moments of my life.

“And of course the fourth round at Wimbledon, where I got the opportunity to compete against a living legend: Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. The fact that I was allowed on that stage is something no one will ever take away from me.

“I want to thank everyone who supported me on this journey: my family, team, coaches, physios, sponsors and fans. I don’t know exactly what will happen next, but I do know that my heart will always stay with tennis. See you soon – maybe along the track maybe not. Who knows. With sporty regards, Tim.”

What did Novak Djokovic say about Tim van Rijthoven?

Despite losing to Djokovic, Van Rijthoven would take a set away from the man who would go on to win his seventh Wimbledon title that year.

After beating the Dutchman, Djokovic was full of praise for Van Rijthoven in his post-match press conference.

“I knew coming into the match that it was always going to be a tough, challenging matchup against Tim, who I’ve never faced before,” Djokovic said at the time. “I watched him play. He’s got a really good game for grass, which he proved today. Was a very good fight, especially in the first two sets.

“But overall I think I’ve played very well, very solid from back of the court. I got into his service rhythm, started reading his serve better in the third and fourth sets.

“I just really am pleased with the way I closed out the match. I lost the rhythm on my serve a little bit towards the end of the match, but overall just a good fight and really challenging match for me on grass.”