Australian Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wants to return to the Australian Open
The former world number five Jo-Wilfried Tsonga plans to re-enter the tour at the beginning of the next season.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Nov 24, 2021, 03:34 pm
The crowd favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played his last match in the summer at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon. There the French lost in five sets against the Swede Mikael Ymer. Long before that, the man from Le Mans had been plagued by severe back pain, which was also reflected in the results for 2021 - Tsonga had only won a match at the indoor hard court event in Marseille before the tournament on Church Road.
After the disappointing performance in the lawn major, the Swiss by choice took a treatment break that he actually wanted to declare over at the US Open. However, the now 36-year-old was not yet satisfied with his fitness level at this point. The next attempt to make a comeback should now come at the Australian Open in 2022, but Tsonga is dependent on the help of the French and Australian tennis federations, as he has now fallen to position 257 in the ATP ranking.
"My goal is definitely to come back in 2022"
Thanks to the cooperation between the Australian and the French Open, the respective national associations can nominate a player from their own country for a wildcard for the other Grand Slam tournament. Tsonga has already taken the necessary steps to achieve this honor: “I plan to return to the tour in January. I applied for a wildcard for the Australian Open from the FFT (Federation Francaise de Tennis). I work hard for it. And if it doesn't work out at the Australian Open, then surely somewhere else. "
Is it possible to end your career, should everything not go as the Australian Open finalist from 2008 envisions? “I imagined the end of my career hundreds of times - since I was 19 (laughs) . My goal is definitely to come back in 2022, ”affirmed the north-west Frenchman.