{"id":51,"date":"2019-12-25T17:14:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T17:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/172.31.41.253\/2019\/12\/25\/paes-46-announces-2020\/"},"modified":"2019-12-26T15:53:42","modified_gmt":"2019-12-26T15:53:42","slug":"paes-46-announces-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pieroselvaggio.com\/2019\/12\/25\/paes-46-announces-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Paes, 46, announces 2020 will be his final year as a professional"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) – India’s veteran tennis player Leander Paes announced on Wednesday that 2020 would be his “farewell year” as a professional before he hangs up his racket.<\/p>\n
The 46-year-old, who started his professional career in 1991, has won 18 doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and a bronze medal in the singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.<\/p>\n
Paes won a total of 54 doubles titles in a career spanning three decades, partnering more than 100 players. He is also the most successful doubles player in the history of the Davis Cup with 43 victories in 56 matches.<\/p>\n
“I want to announce 2020 as my farewell year as a pro tennis player,” Paes wrote on Twitter https:\/\/twitter.com\/Leander\/status\/1209848717228019713?s=20 where he also thanked his family for their support.<\/p>\n
“I am looking forward to the 2020 tennis calendar where I will be playing a few select tournaments, traveling with my team and celebrating with all my friends and fans around the world.”<\/p>\n
“It is all of you who have inspired me to become me and I want to take this year to say ‘Thank you’ to you.”<\/p>\n
At the peak of his career at the turn of the century, Paes was ranked No. 1 in the doubles circuit along with partner Mahesh Bhupathi, with whom he won three Grand Slam titles.<\/p>\n
The duo won 26 doubles titles as a pairing between 1997 and 2011.<\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair)<\/p>\n