'I'm Done': Isner Confirms Retirement At US Open & Looks Back On Career 'Without Regrets'

| by Erik Virostko

John Isner will play his last professional tournament on the ATP Tour at Flushing Meadows, competing at the 2023 US Open.

Some stories start, others come to an end, and while the story of a possible Hall of Famer, Carlos Alcaraz, is just starting, the career of one of the most successful Americans of the past generation is ending.

The United States of America has been used to having successful tennis players for a very long time. From Jimmy Connors to John McEnroe, to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, there were many legendary tennis players born in the States.

In 2003, Andy Roddick was the last male American to win a Grand Slam title, and now it's twenty years since that happened. And while there was no one to replace the many successful generations in terms of winning majors, there was one player that certainly held the flag really high.

Never referred to as a big talent, John Isner never had any major expectations when starting his tennis career, especially because of his height, something he learned to utilize over the years. He quickly became the highest-ranked American in the ATP Rankings, but ahead of the 2023 US Open, he admits that it didn't feel like 'a burden', especially after so many successful generations.

"I never really honestly felt like it was a burden. I do know the players before me are all Hall of Famers. Obviously you talk about Andy Roddick, he's in the Hall of Fame. The guys before him, I don't need to mention their names."

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"I never felt like it was a burden to be the No. 1 American. Maybe because I wasn't, like, in juniors and through college real spoken about. I think in a sense I sort of came on tour with not much pressure on myself. Of course, there weren't many expectations for me. That helped me out a lot."

Throughout his career, Isner experienced many ups and downs, many beautiful moments, but also many painful losses. Now that he's officially retiring, the tall American can look back on his career and certainly pride himself in what he has achieved.

"I think I've overachieved. I never imagined myself having this much success for this long. Mentioned in one of my statements, of course there's so many matches I wish I could have back, but I prepared in my mind as best as I possibly could for 17 years. I don't have many regrets, that's for sure."

Thanks to his powerful and precise serve, Isner managed to break a world record in aces hit, a number which now stands at 14,411, and a number that he has one last chance to improve before he retires.

Now 683 aces ahead of his closet rival, retired Ivo Karlovic, the 38-year-old American could still break some records, but when asked about potentially continuing his career, he reiterated that he wouldn't be coming back.

"Yeah, I'm certain (smiling). My tweet has like five million views or something like that. I'm done. No, I think on the women's side, I think it's very cool and inspirational to see some of these women come back after becoming mothers. I think that's very unique. On the men's side, it doesn't happen as much. It did happen with Kevin. It won't happen with me, yeah."

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