Former Georgia tennis star John Isner retiring: 'Journey was nothing short of incredible.'
Former Georgia tennis star John Isner is calling it a career.
The four-time All-American with the Bulldogs from 2004-07 announced Wednesday he will retire after the U.S. Open which starts next week.
“There comes a time in every athletes’ career that they have to decide to hang it up, for me, that time is now,” Isner wrote in an Instagram post. “I didn’t come at this decision lightly, but I feel it is the right way to go. When I left the University of Georgia in 2007, there is no way I could have imagined playing 17 years on the ATP Tour. Of course, there are countless matches I wish I could have back, but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish. The journey was nothing short of incredible.”
The big-seving Isner, 38, led Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship and won 16 ATP titles.
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“John has been in incredible representative of the University of Georgia for the past 20 years,” longtime Georgia coach Manuel Diaz told the Athens Banner-Herald in a text message Wednesday night. “He’s been a warrior, a class act. He represented our country at every opportunity, hit the most service aces and the most tiebreak wins ever on tour. Dawg Nation, is proud of you, John.”
Isner went 143-28 in singles at Georgia and 140-25 in doubles.
Isner has won more than $22 million in prize money during his career with a career high ranking of No. 8 in 2018. He has the most career aces with 14,411, according to the ATP website
Isner is currently ranked No. 158 in the world and is 8-13 this year.
"The last couple of years, I've started to feel the wear and tear a little bit more,” Isner told John Frierson last month in a story posted on Georgiadogs.com. “For a long while I did feel pretty indestructible, and very lucky, too. My ranking, for me, for my standards, is really bad right now. It's not something I'm accustomed to, but at the same time, I feel like that's because I wasn't fully healthy. We'll see if I can turn that around this summer."
Isner is currently ranked No. 158 in the world and is 8-13 this year.
He’s won more than $22 million in prize money during his career with a career high ranking of No. 8 in 2018. He has the most career aces with 14,411, according to the ATP website.
Isner and wife Madison have four children.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Former Georgia tennis star John Isner is retiring after U.S. Open
