Sport
At 35 years old, the tennis player from Guimarães ended his professional career in singles at the highest level this Wednesday, after becoming an example for several generations and opening the doors to young Portuguese tennis players.
Carlos Rodrigues
The ‘conqueror’ João Sousa placed a final point in the most golden era of national tennisin which, based on unique determination and professionalism, he was a pioneer in almost everything and, for years, he competed with world legends.
It all started 32 years ago, when he played with a racket almost the size of his three years old, while his father and amateur tennis player Armando Marinho de Sousa played at the Guimarães Tennis Club.
Tennis became a regular part of the Vimaranense’s life at the age of seven and his first title came with victory in the under-12 National Championship, beating Gastão Elias in the final.
Barcelona, where it all began
Since then, triumphs have often followed and his passion for the sport led him to convince his father, a judge by profession, and his mother Adelaide to allow him to move, at the age of 15, to the BTT Tennis Academy, in Barcelona.
Fulfilling his part of his commitment to his parents, of not neglecting his studies in Catalonia, Sousa also developed as a tennis player at the Spanish school, where he met fellow Portuguese Frederico Marques, who would become one of his great friends and, later, your usual coach.
After opting for tennis over football, a sport he practiced at Vitória de Guimarães until he was 14 years old, and a medical course, an area in which he aspired to train, ‘Joey’ became a racket professional in 2007, following the example of his childhood idol, the Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In 17 years, the Portuguese added achievement after achievement and wrote a unique history in national tennis, a history that, together with his origins, earned him the nickname ‘conqueror’.
In 2012, he achieved what no Portuguese person had achieved
On October 15, 2012, he entered the top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time and remained there for 403 weeks. Without interruption, there were almost eight years (339 weeks) among the 100 best in the world, something never achieved by a Portuguese tennis player.
He won four ATP titles in 12 finals played (Kuala Lumpur in 2013, Valencia in 2015, Estoril Open in 2018 and Pune in 2022) -, the most important at Clube de Ténis do Estoril, where he became the first Portuguese champion of the tournament -, He represented Portugal twice at the Olympic Games (Rio2016 and Tokyo2020), also something unprecedented, he had 33 caps for Portugal in the Davis Cup and reached 28th place in the ATP rankings in May 2016.
Based on his spirit of sacrifice, warrior and eloquence, he was present, for years on end, in all Masters 1,000 and Grand Slam tournaments, with his best result being the round of 16 at the United States Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019 , the year in which he suffered his first serious physical setbacks.
Recent years marked by an ordeal of injuries
A fissure in his left foot forced him to end that season early, before the Covid-19 pandemic marked another difficult year for the Guimarães native, who contracted tendonitis in his right arm in the Antwerp tournament and which led him to, at least, second year in a row, an end to the season ahead of schedule.
The fourth ATP title in India in 2022, in a final played in three sets with the Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori, still reinvigorated João Sousa, but the hope of returning to perform at the highest level was once again thwarted by physical problems, particularly in the back.
Despite the ‘ordeal’ of injuries in recent years, the always combative, sometimes even explosive, and polite Sousa never stopped believing, never lowered his arms, nor the intensity in the work dedicated to trying to be the best on a court. ‘ of tennis, where he came to face the legendary Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, world number one, among many other world tennis stars.
Goodbye to the courts with many tears in the mix
At the age of 35, this Wednesday he ended his professional career in singles at the highest level, after becoming an example for several generations and opening the doors to young Portuguese tennis players, whom he welcomed over the years as the team’s helmsman. Davis Cup National. This unique legacy was created by someone who always believed and fought, the ‘conqueror’ João Sousa.
No court central do Estoril Tennis Clubthe 35-year-old from Guimarães, who received an invitation from the organization to compete in the only Portuguese ATP tournament, was defeated by the 37th player in the world by scores of 7-5 and 6-4, in one hour and 50 minutes.
The only national tennis player to win ATP titles (four), including the 2018 Estoril Open, Sousa ended his singles career, in which he reached 28th place in the world rankings, the best record ever for a Portuguese player. .