Tennis: Belarus' Max Mirnyi hangs up raquet

Belarusian Max 'The Beast' Mirnyi has announced his retirement after remarkable 22 years in professional tennis.

"I have come to a decision that the 2018 season was my last year competing professionally,” Mirnyi wrote in his open letter published on the website of Belarusian Tennis Federation. It was a very difficult choice for me to make as tennis has been my life ever since I can remember myself. I was fortunate to achieve far beyond what a little boy from Minsk, Belarus, could have dreamed of." 

Marnyi thanked his family and all the coaches he had worked with beginning from junior coaches Valery Lavrenov and Arkadi Edelman from the MAZ tennis school. He also mentioned all of his 100 partners in the doubles from 1994 through 2018. "Special acknowledgment goes to all 100 of my doubles partners from 1994 to 2018 with whom I have an individual story to tell and who helped me installed a brick, large or small, in building my career wall. Thanks again to you, guys! We had a blast!!!"

The full text of the open letter is available on the website of the Belarusian Tennis Federation.

The Belarusian 41-year-old tennis player was world number one in doubles and won the 2012 Olympic gold in the mixed doubles with Victoria Azarenka. He is a ten-time Grand Slam doubles and mixed winner, the two-time winner of the ATP Doubles Final (2006, 2011). He won 53 ATP titles (including one in singles). In Minsk, the player has opened the Max Mirnyi Tennis Academy Center, BELTA reminds.