“Every moment on a court I was immensely happy”

He had already hinted at it in several interviews and even in a publication on social networks this week, but this Sunday, the Buenos Aires native Diego Schwartzman officially announced when he will put an end to his professional career. The ‘Little One’, in the midst of a results crisis that lasted longer than he would have wanted in time, made a post on his official Instagram account to say that his “competitive animal” prevents him from “enjoy, play and travel like I used to”.

“What a journey! How many moments that I never imagined, how many anecdotes that I never dreamed of, how many people I met who helped me grow, who taught me so much, who mHe became a much better player and person than anyone ever thought he would be, including myself.“, he began his post, perhaps following the one he had made last Monday, in a suggestive way.

And he concluded, while the greetings from colleagues, other athletes and figures from different fields followed one another second by second: “Every corner of the field, every second training, every point competing, every moment I was immensely happy. I lived it with such intensity that today It is difficult for me to maintain. All those beautiful moments have become something that today carries weight and it is difficult for me to continue fully enjoying. On the one hand, leaving a life that gave me so much is a very difficult decision, but on the other hand, how happy I was playing tennis drives me to continue wanting to keep a smile on and off the court as I always did.. However, today that smile is sometimes difficult for me to find. Inside, a competitive animal prevents me from enjoying, playing and traveling like I used to.”

Then he announced which, within his desire, are the last tournaments he wants to enjoy, knowing that he will go to play the qualifiers of the Rome Masters 1000 -where he was a finalist in 2020 with victory over Rafael Nadal included- and Roland Garros -that same year he lost in the semis to Nadal-, the most important tournaments where he achieved the best results. In it Foro Itálico will face this Monday, in the first round of the qualifying phase, the Spanish Albert Ramos Viñolasthe same rival that eliminated him a week ago in the classification of Madrid Masters 1000.

“I want my last tournaments to be my own decision. May 2024 be that way, hopefully having the opportunity to compete in the tournaments that I enjoy the most. AND in 2025, in Argentina, to be able to have my final moment, the most beautiful closure I can imagine“, he said, thinking about that ATP in Buenos Aires, where he was champion in 2021 and where he will put a definitive point.

On Monday, the elimination in the Caja Mágica against Ramos Viñolas, after being a set and a break up on the scoreboard, had been a trigger, because the bad results continued to accumulate and wear down his mind. “End of the trip…”, wrote the Peque on his Twitter account. Three words that quickly went viral and led many to speculate about their meaning.

“It was very difficult for me to play qualifying at the Australian Open, it was amazing to see myself there after many years. I got there in good time and the club wasn’t even open. I didn’t even have a locker with my own name. They were all little knocks that made me having a really bad week. After that, I don’t know if I’m going to go to Roland Garros if I have to play the qualifier. I say ‘Hey, if I’m going to have a great time, why am I going to go?’ calendar to be able to play in the main draw of Wimbledon”he had told.

Maybe that post full of mystery was referring to that situation. Because located in the 142nd place in the ranking, Schwartzman would have no choice but to compete for the classification of the “great” Frenchman, in which he experienced one of the most beautiful moments of his career four years ago.

The 31-year-old Buenos Aires native has been suffering in his career for some time. After that dream 2020, he remained at the top for a while. In 2021, he even managed to conquer the Argentina Open and celebrated his fourth ATP title in front of his people. But the second half of 2022 marked a break.

After falling in the third round of the US Open, they had six defeats and did not win a game again that year. In 2023 he accumulated a record of 13 wins and 25 falls. He was only able to add three consecutive wins in a main draw in October in Shanghai (lost in the round of 16) and closed the season outside the top 100 (114th), after having started it 25th.

In a chat with Clarín during his brief time in ATP Buenos Aires last season (he lost in his debut), he said that In 2022 he had suffered anxiety attacks when things did not go as planned and he punished himself a lot because he did not want to lose the ground he had gained.

“There were games in which, When 50 minutes into the game, my entire body was cramped and I didn’t know why. It was hard because that makes you anxious and you lose a little control. It happened to me in other off-field situations as well. I worked on it, I looked for solutions and today I am better, even though the results are not given,” he said at that time.

But he also allowed himself to talk about what he had achieved. “When I was a child, neither I nor anyone thought I would achieve everything I achieved. So what can I criticize myself about my career? Sometimes I come across people who stop me and remind me of what I achieved or say nice things to me and then I say: ‘Hey, where’s the problem?’. And that’s not the problem. ‘How can it be that I am so burned out and that I lose sight of the things I was achieving over a couple of bad months?‘. But sometimes one enters a maelstrom that does not see it so clearly. I lost a tennis match, I’m not playing well… I hope I can do it again soon, but I think that with everything I achieved, there is no room for criticism,” he reflected, excited about the possibility of a recovery.

But although he did not stop fighting, Little He never found his best version again. The celebration at the debut of Tokyo ATP 2023 ante Francisco Cerúndolo, a week after his time in Shanghai, was the last one he won in a main draw. In 2024, he lost the six games he played; He only won in the qualys.

In the first months of the year he received two blows that hurt him a lot. In January, he lost in the qualifying Australian Open and for the first time in ten years he was left out of a Grand Slam, after 36 consecutive participations. And in February, he fell in the opening round of Buenos Aires against the Colombian Daniel Galan and he said goodbye for the second consecutive year in the debut of a tournament in which he was a finalist three times (and won once).

After that very tough defeat, he opened his heart and recognized that, if things did not change, the end seemed inevitable.

The story was not changed and the Little One has already begun the farewell…