Tuesday at Wimbledon marked the end of an era for French veteran Jeremy Chardy who played the last singles match of his career.
Chardy, who has been ranked as high as No.25 in the world, was beaten in straight sets by top seed Carlos Alcaraz on Court One. The loss brings to an end his 17-year journey on the ATP Tour which began at the 2006 Estoril Open. During that period, he won the 2009 Stuttgart Open, earned more than $10.5M in prize money and played over 600 matches.
“I felt pretty good but when I arrived on the court, I was a little lost,” L’Equipe quoted Chardy as saying afterwards. “I couldn’t serve at all, I made, I don’t know how many double faults! I was really tense.’
“Then I managed to free myself and be able to enjoy at least the second part of the match. It was nice and the audience was great.”
After missing the entire 2022 season due to knee surgery, Chardy takes comfort in the fact he has been able to end his life as a professional athlete on his own terms. When he took the courts of the All England Club this week, he was ranked outside of the top 500 and had only played five matches this year.
“Before leaving (Center Court), I turned my head, I saw them, my wife and my son, and I started to cry a little. I was glad he could be with me to share this.” He reflected.
As one chapter closes, another is starting in the sport for the 36-year-old who will continue his coaching duties with Ugo Humbert. His compatriot asked him for help last year after he stopped working with his team. In a recent interview with the ATP, Chardy said he ‘wanted to give back all his experience to his friend’ but never planned on going into a coaching role at the time.
During their time together, Humbert has re-entered the top 40. As for the future, Chardy says he wants to keep mentoring the 25-year-old who he also is scheduled to play doubles with at Wimbledon this year. Humbert will play Jason Kubler in his first round match on Wednesday.
“I will continue to work with Ugo. The doubles, I’m not sure I’ll continue on the other hand,” he commented. “I just wanted to play here with Ugo because it’s important for his game and there are things in the doubles that can improve him enormously.”
Chardy has played in 56 Grand Slam tournaments and achieved a win-loss record of the Tour of 298-307.
