Tim van Rijthoven has ended his tennis career on Tuesday. The 28-year-old from Brabant, who stunned in 2022 by winning the ATP tournament of Rosmalen, stops after persistent injury woes.
“With pain in my heart, I must share something today that I have been trying to process for a long time,” Van Rijthoven writes on Instagram. “My professional tennis career comes to a forced end.”
“Due to a persistent elbow injury, which despite all rehabilitation and medical treatments does not recover sufficiently, I am forced to say goodbye to the sport I have lived for my entire life.”
Van Rijthoven shook Dutch tennis to its foundations in June 2022 by very surprisingly winning the ATP tournament of Rosmalen. As number 205 in the world, he had received a wildcard to participate in the grass tournament.
To everyone’s surprise, Van Rijthoven advanced to the final, in which he convincingly defeated the top-seeded Daniil Medvedev. It became 6-4 and 6-1, establishing the then 25-year-old from Brabant. “That will forever remain one of the most beautiful moments of my life,” says Van Rijthoven.
Clash with Djokovic at Wimbledon
Because of his stunt in Rosmalen, Van Rijthoven received a wildcard for Wimbledon a few weeks later. There he confirmed his top form. The Dutchman reached the eighth finals, where he met Novak Djokovic.
Van Rijthoven gave the Serbian tennis legend a good match and reached 1-1 in sets but ultimately had to admit defeat. “No one can take that match away from me anymore,” writes Van Rijthoven, who was the number 101 in the world after the Grand Slam tournament in London.
Van Rijthoven would never be better than those weeks in the early summer of 2022. A lingering elbow injury kept him sidelined for a long time. Van Rijthoven tried to return to his top level but now sees himself forced to end his career at the age of 28.
“I don’t know exactly what’s coming now,” Van Rijthoven concludes his farewell message. “But I do know that my heart will always remain with tennis.”