Andy Roddick announced his retirement from tennis on his 30th birthday Thursday.
During a news conference at Flushing Meadows via The Associated Press, Roddick said the 2012 U.S. Open “is going to be my last tournament.”
“I just feel like it’s time. I don’t know that I’m healthy enough or committed enough to go another year,” he explained. “I’ve always wanted to, in a perfect world, finish at this event.”
The 2003 U.S. Open champion and former No. 1-ranked player is scheduled to play Bernard Tomic, 19, in the second round Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think I wanted an opportunity to say goodbye to people, as well. I don’t know how tomorrow’s going to go, and I hope it goes well, and I’m sticking around,” Roddick said of deciding to make his announcement before his final match. “If I do run into some emotions tomorrow or in four days, I don’t want people to think I’m a little unstable. Or more unstable. So that’s why I came to this decision.”
Roddick is married to actress/model Brooklyn Decker, 25. The What to Expect When You’re Expecting star told the May issue of Women’s Health that she refuses to play tennis with her husband of three years.
“I ended up hitting all the tennis balls over the fence and smashing my racket because I was so frustrated,” she said. “I told him, ‘You don’t teach me how to play tennis, and I won’t teach you how to model in a bathing suit.’ And so far, it’s worked.”