Canada’s Milos Raonic, once ranked World No. 3 and nicknamed “Missile” for his thunderous serve, announced his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 35.
Raonic turned professional in 2008 and rose to prominence with his aggressive style and powerful serve. His career peaked in 2016 when he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Andy Murray. Over his career, Raonic captured eight ATP Tour titles and earned more than USD 20 million in prize money.
“This is a moment you know will come one day, but somehow you never feel ready for it. This is as ready as I will ever be. Tennis has been my love and obsession for most of my life,” Raonic wrote on social media platform X. He added, “I have been the luckiest person to get to live out and fulfil my dreams. I got to show up every day and focus on just getting better, seeing where that will take me.”
Born in former Yugoslavia during the violent breakup of the country in the early 1990s, Raonic moved to Canada with his family at the age of three. He won his first ATP title at the Pacific Coast Championships in 2011, defeating Fernando Verdasco in the final.
Raonic played in four Masters 1000 finals between 2013 and 2020, losing once to Rafael Nadal and three times to Novak Djokovic. His last ATP final appearance came at the 2020 Cincinnati Masters, while his final tour-level match was a first-round loss to Dominik Koepfer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Reflecting on the future, Raonic said, “What’s next? I won’t be slowing down. There is so much more life to live, and I am as motivated and hungry as I was in 2011, when I broke through on tour.”
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