NEW YORK — Former world number one doubles player and six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury has retired from professional tennis, choosing this month's US Open as his final event. The 34-year-old, Britain's most successful men's doubles player of the Open Era, reached the semi-finals in New York alongside long-time partner Rajeev Ram, who had also decided to retire.
The venue provided a fitting farewell. In 2023, Salisbury and Ram became the first pair in history to win three consecutive US Open men's doubles titles, adding to their 2020 Australian Open crown. Salisbury also won two mixed doubles titles with Desirae Krawczyk and finishes his career with 17 tour-level titles, including the season-ending ATP Finals in 2022 and 2023.
"Tennis has been my life for as long as I can remember and I have been incredibly fortunate to have had all the opportunities, experiences and success that I have," Salisbury posted on Instagram. "To be able to travel the world and call playing tennis my job has been a dream come true and I never believed I could have lived the life and had the career that I have. I gave it my all and know I can be proud and look back with no regrets." He said he has been thinking about his future for a while and is now "very happy with the decision."
Salisbury took a three-month break at the start of this year after telling BBC Sport about anxiety which had been affecting him on tour. While he did not think it affected his tennis very much, he said it left him with a "feeling of dread" which made life on the road far less enjoyable.