Former World number 56 Rajeev Ram has announced that he has played his final singles match of his career last week in Newport as he has decided to focus on his doubles career.
Ram, who lost his final singles match to eventual Newport finalist Matthew Ebden, has announced that he will no longer play singles on the ATP World Tour. The reason for this happening was due to the physical toll it was taking on his body, ‘I had a great year last year in singles even and in doubles. But I could just feel the wear and tear starting to take its toll.’ Ram explained as he reflected upon his singles career on the tour. ‘You grow up trying to be a singles player as a first thought and that’s what I have devoted my whole career to, up until now. It’s a chapter that’s ending and I definitely feel very privileged to end it here (Newport).’
The veteran America won two ATP World Tour titles as a singles player, which both came in Newport when he beat Sam Querrey and Ivo Karlovic in the 2009 and 2015 finals. The 33 year old also reached the second round of a grand slam five times, which included twice at the Australian Open, once at Wimbledon and twice at the US Open.
Ram will now focus on his doubles career with regular partner Raven Klaasen. The pair have won five titles as a duo and reached two grand slam Semi-Finals. Rajeev Ram is currently at a career high ranking of number 11 in doubles.