Roland-Garros: "This could be the last match of my career," says Richard Gasquet, before his entry into the tournament

The 38-year-old tennis player will end his international career in front of the French public at Roland Garros.

"This could be the last match of my career, on Centre Court," Richard Gasquet announced on franceinfo on Monday, May 19, before his debut at Roland Garros. The 38-year-old French player announced his retirement after the French Open.

"I'm going to try to arrive in good shape, first of all, the most important thing is to be competitive," announced Richard Gasquet, now ranked 166th in the world, before entering the tournament. If he is eliminated in the first round, which begins Sunday, he will be playing the last match of his career. "These are incredible moments, which are really very special," he said. "Afterwards we'll see the draw, it's always important, I have no idea who I'll be playing against," he added.

This is his 22nd Roland-Garros tournament. "When I was young, I watched it on TV with my friends," admits Richard Gasquet. He first participated in the tournament in 2002, when he was only 16 years old. "I started very, very early, and I finished very late," he notes. In 2016, the right-hander reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. "I had a lot of 1/8th, but I stopped a lot on Nadal, Djokovitch..." he laments.

Richard Gasquet will finish his career in front of the French public "obviously it increases things tenfold" . "I will try to enjoy myself. I know there will be an audience, my friends, my family, so I really want to be good and enjoy the moment as much as possible" , he adds. After this tournament, Richard Gasquet first plans to rest: "There have been a lot of tournaments, my whole career, there have been very few moments of rest" . As for the rest of his career, he plans "certainly to return to tennis, where? How? We will see what will happen. It is certain, it remains my passion" .