A Fitting Final Stage
Joe Salisbury has officially retired from professional tennis, choosing this year's US Open at Flushing Meadows as the backdrop for his farewell. The 34-year-old Londoner made it to the semi-finals there alongside longtime partner Rajeev Ram, who was simultaneously wrapping up his own career. It was a poetic send-off: in 2023, Salisbury and Ram became the first pair in history to claim three consecutive US Open men's doubles titles, a record that underscores just how dominant their partnership was at that venue.
Salisbury departs as Britain's most successful men's doubles player of the Open era. Beyond New York, he and Ram also captured the 2020 Australian Open title, and Salisbury added two mixed doubles Grand Slam crowns alongside Desirae Krawczyk. His 17 tour-level titles include back-to-back season-ending ATP Finals championships in 2022 and 2023, cementing his status as one of the premier doubles specialists of his generation.
Life Beyond the Tour
The decision did not come out of nowhere. Salisbury had already taken a three-month break earlier this year after opening up to BBC Sport about anxiety that had been weighing on him throughout his time on tour. He described a persistent "feeling of dread" that made constant travel far less enjoyable, even if it rarely disrupted his results on court. Now, he says he has been reflecting on his future for some time and is "very happy with the decision."
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Salisbury described tennis as his life for as long as he could remember, calling the career he built a "dream come true" and vowing to look back with no regrets. TennisDraw users who followed his Flushing Meadows run will remember him as one of doubles tennis's most reliable champions.
