By Scoop Malinowski
One of the most bizarre retirements in tennis history happened in 2011 when an elite player, seemingly at the height of his powers, suddenly retired.
Robin Söderling, the first tennis player to beat Rafael Nadal at 2009 Roland Garros (62 67 64 76), abruptly finished his career in July 2011 at age 26 right after he won the ATP 250 in Båstad without dropping a set. At Bstaad, Soderling was absolutely devastating with sensational blowout wins 61 60 over Tomas Berdych in the semifinals and then a 61 62 rampage over David Ferrer in the final.
Suddenly and shockingly, it would be the last tournament Soderling would ever play due to an alleged diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis. In that 2011 season, the Lotto attired and shoed Soderling won four titles and was apparently on the verge of becoming an elite ATP star, with his blockbuster baseline game powered by the Babolat Pure Storm racquet which earns a match record of 38 wins and 9 losses.
The Swede with heavyweight knockout power had an astoundingly impressive baseline game, excellent return of serve, and a very hard, accurate serve. Nobody who saw him slay Nadal on Court Chatrier will ever forget his fighting spirit either. He was just entering his prime and certainly a top contender to challenge for the world no. 1 ranking.
Then it was over. Some wonder if he was secretly banned. Others wonder why he never recovered from an illness that has not ruined the career of any other tennis pros or pro athletes from any other sport.
Since his career finished with a total of ten titles, Soderling has stayed out of the public eye and away from the pro tennis universe, except for a small company clothing line he started “rs” which is worn by a few low ranked players such as Jay Friend.
Though he is off the tennis radar, Soderling had an unforgettable if brief impact on the ATP World Tour, as one of the biggest hitters we ever saw and the architect of one of the greatest Grand Slam upsets.
Babolat Pure Storm · Lotto · Robin Soderling · Roland Garros · Sweden