It will be by giving everything he has and seeking victory, as has been his trademark for 17 years, that João Sousa will end his professional career, in the first week of April, at the Millennium Estoril Open. The tennis player from Guimarães chose as his farewell the tournament where he experienced the most memorable moment of his life, when he won the title in 2018 and became the only (to date) Portuguese champion of the Portuguese ATP Tour tournament.
But the legacy that Sousa leaves goes beyond that triumph and there were many records he set for national tennis. In addition to the title in Estoril, the Portuguese tennis player won three more tournaments in the ATP 250 category: Kuala Lumpur (2013), Valencia (2015) and Pune (2022). He competed in the four biggest tennis tournaments and faced the biggest names of his generation: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. He was in eight other finals on the ATP circuit, was an eighth-finalist at the US Open and Wimbledon and reached 28th place in the singles rankings on May 16, 2016.
In doubles, he was also in the top 30 – 26th in the rankings, in May 2019 –, he was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open in 2019, a three-time quarter-finalist at the US Open (2015, 2019 and 2022) and a finalist at the ATP 1000 from Rome, in 2018.
Representing Portugal, he participated in 34 Davis Cup qualifiers, between 2008 and 2024, and in two Olympic Games (2016 and 2020). Numbers that make João Sousa the best Portuguese tennis player of all time.
João Sousa ends his career in the tournament at the Tennis Club in Estoril, which takes place from March 30th José Sena Goulão
“I feel enormous pride in what I have achieved and the legacy I leave behind. I had the privilege of representing Portugal in the most prestigious tournaments in the world and I would like to believe that I contributed to the development of tennis in our country. I’m happy to know that there were people to whom I served as an inspiration so they could pursue their dream and to see younger people believe in something that was unthinkable years ago”, highlighted Sousa, at this Tuesday’s press conference, marked by emotion. .
“As you know, unfortunately recent times have been difficult, with many injuries preventing me from playing tennis at the highest level. I have been fighting against this, but my body and mind have shown extreme signs of a lot of fatigue and daily pain. After a period of much reflection, I decided to retire from professional tennis and the Millennium Estoril Open will be the last tournament of my career. It is a tournament that I won in 2018 and is very special to me, it is the ideal scenario to say goodbye to tennis. I want to do it together with my family, friends, sponsors, and also with my audience, who has always been with me”, explained Sousa.
Although he still doesn’t know if he will compete in the coming weeks, João Sousa marked his definitive goodbye to the tournament that will take place at Clube de Ténis do Estoril, starting on March 30th. “It’s the ideal scenario for me to withdraw. I always have the ambition to win every match, regardless of the opponent. I’m not going there just to say goodbye, the moment is very emotional for me, however I have to prepare myself to be physically well and I’m going to give everything as I’ve always done, as has always been my brand and my essence”, said the Portuguese tennis player.
During the conference, a video was shown with several testimonials, from players of different generations, coaches – such as the current one, Frederico Marques, or the former world number one and now coach of Carlos Alcaraz Juan Carlos Ferrero – and family members, praising the personality and career of João Sousa.
As for the future, the Guimarães native only has the certainty of remaining connected to the sport, on or off the field. “Although this phase of my life ends here, my commitment to tennis remains unshakable. I maintain the desire to continue trying to grow tennis in Portugal. The next few years will be dedicated to thinking about my future and my next challenges, to which I will give all my dedication, enthusiasm, resilience and, above all, a spirit of achievement, just as I have done throughout my career”, assured Sousa, “looking forward to continuing to make a difference, whether on the field or off it”.