The 2024 tennis season's biggest retirements: Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber and more

The 2024 season was marked by significant retirements in the tennis world, as former World No. 1 players, Grand Slam champions, and legendary figures brought their careers to a close. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray garnered most of the attention with their retirements, but they were not the only ones leaving the courts.

Rafael Nadal

The 22-time Grand Slam champion ended his career during the Davis Cup Finals. On November 19, Nadal took to the court in the first tie against the Netherlands, facing Botic Van de Zandschulp, but was defeated 4-6, 4-6. Carlos Alcaraz won the second match against Tallon Griekspoor, leading to a doubles match where the Dutch duo of Koolhof/Van de Zandschulp defeated Alcaraz/Granollers, sealing Spain's defeat and marking Nadal's career end.

In Malaga, in front of his home crowd, Nadal’s farewell lacked the presence of big names like Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, who many expected to attend. Nevertheless, the Spaniard had an emotional close to his incredible career.

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Andy Murray

The 3-time Grand Slam champion battled through recent years to stay competitive despite multiple surgeries. Murray’s final career segment was dignified, with two epic wins over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2023 Australian Open. Those matches lasted over five hours and ended at dawn with dramatic comebacks from the Brit.

Murray decided to end his career at the Olympic Games, where he played doubles with Dan Evans, reaching the quarterfinals. The duo saved five match points in their first match and two more in the second round, extending Murray’s career just a bit longer. Recently, Novak Djokovic announced Murray as his coach for the 2025 season, so we’ll see the Scot back on the Tour, but this time in the Serbian's box.

Garbiñe Muguruza

The former World No. 1 announced her retirement during a press conference in Madrid in April 2024. Since her 2021 WTA Finals victory, Muguruza struggled with performance decline and injuries that hindered her continuity on the Tour. Her final appearance was in the 2023 Lyon Open, where she lost to Linda Noskova in the first round. After that, she took a break from her career, which eventually became permanent, ending a remarkable career at 30.

Shortly after, Muguruza was appointed as the new director of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she oversaw the event that saw Coco Gauff claim the title by defeating Zheng Qinwen in the final.

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Angelique Kerber

The 3-time Grand Slam champion announced her retirement in July, with the Olympic Games being her final tournament. The 36-year-old German returned to the Tour in January 2024 after a year-long maternity leave.

In Paris 2024, she faced former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka, defeating her in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. Kerber had a solid run, defeating Jaqueline Cristian and Leylah Fernandez (16th seed) to reach the quarterfinals, where she even squandered a match point against Zheng Qinwen, the eventual gold medalist.

Dominic Thiem

The Austrian had a stellar career and became one of the biggest challengers to the Big-3. Thiem reached World No. 3 in March 2020 and won 17 titles, including the 2020 US Open, where he came back from two sets down to beat his friend Alexander Zverev, saving match points in the process.

Thiem struggled with a wrist injury in recent years and, despite his attempts to return to his best level, was unable to break back into the top ranks. He played his last tournament at the Vienna Open in October, where he lost in the first round to Luciano Darderi (6-7, 2-6).

Camila Giorgi

The former World No. 28’s retirement was unexpected. In May, the ITIA listed her among the retired players, and Giorgi later explained in an interview that her retirement was due to issues with external people responsible for her financial matters. Rumors circulated about potential tax problems in Italy, but Giorgi defended that her family was unaware of the fiscal issues and that the problems were caused by those managing her finances.

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Her final match was a second-round defeat to Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open (1-6, 1-6). Giorgi won four titles in her career, including the 2021 WTA 1000 Canadian Open, where she defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final.

Dustin Brown

The renowned Jamaican player Dustin Brown began his career in 2002 and achieved his best ranking of No. 64. Brown was recognized as a showman for the public with his unique on-court style and gained worldwide fame with his two victories over Rafael Nadal on grass courts.

The Jamaican defeated Nadal at the 2014 Halle Open – when Nadal was World No. 1 – and a year later, he made headlines at Wimbledon by eliminating Nadal in the second round. The former player announced his retirement mid-year on social media, mentioning that a lower back injury in 2023 forced him to make this decision.

Alizé Cornet

The former World No. 11 had a remarkable 15-year career at the top level, holding the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam main-draw appearances with 69 from the 2007 Australian Open to the 2024 French Open. Her best Grand Slam result came in 2022 when she reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne before falling to Danielle Collins.

Cornet played her final tournament at Roland Garros, the same venue where she debuted, receiving a tribute from her fans at the Philippe Chatrier. She lost to Zheng Qinwen in the first round but also made appearances in doubles and mixed doubles later.

Shelby Rogers

The American reached a career-high ranking of No. 30 in August 2022 and was known for her dangerous style of play, with victories over top-10 players like Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Ashleigh Barty, and Petra Kvitova.

Rogers, 32, reached the quarterfinals of both the French Open in 2016 and the US Open in 2020. She played her final match at the US Open, losing in the first round to 6th seed Jessica Pegula.

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Diego Schwartzmann

Former World No. 8 Diego Schwartzmann struggled with injuries in the final phase of his career, and despite his attempts to regain his form, he was unable to break back into the top 100. The 32-year-old Argentine announced his retirement a few months ago but hopes to have one last farewell at the Buenos Aires Open in February 2025.

Schwartzmann reached the quarterfinals of Grand Slams four times and made it to the 2020 French Open semifinals, where he lost to an almost invincible Rafael Nadal. He also reached the US Open quarterfinals in 2017, becoming the shortest player (170 cm/5ft 7in) to reach the stage since Jaime Yzaga in 1994.

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Other notable retirements:

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Steve Johnson (Career-high ranking: No. 21)

Ivo Karlovic (Career-high ranking: No. 14)

Wesley Koolhof (Former doubles World No. 1, 2023 Wimbledon doubles champion)

Alison Van Uytvanck (Career-high ranking: No. 37)

Filip Krajinovic (Career-high ranking: No. 26)

Ryan Harrison (Career-high ranking: No. 40)

Joao Sousa (Career-high ranking: No. 28)

Pablo Cuevas (Career-high ranking: No. 19)

Federico Delbonis (Career-high ranking: No. 33)

*Carlos Bernardes: Chair umpire, with over 8,000 matches officiated and a career spanning more than 40 years.