Wesley Koolhof retired at the Davis Cup Finals as the Netherlands lost the championship tie (Image: Getty)
Wesley Koolhof still managed to retire on a high despite losing the last tournament of his career at the Davis Cup.
The former doubles No. 1 officially ended his career as the Netherlands , with Matteo Berrettini and getting the job done in singles.
But Koolhof had already joked that he didn’t want to play another match after producing a statement performance against Spain in the quarter-final on Tuesday – and he got exactly what he wanted.
’s retirement has been the talk of the town in Malaga but the Spaniard wasn’t the only champion to end his career at the team competition this week. Koolhof – the man who – also hung up his racket.
Ahead of the 2024 season, the former champion announced it would be his last. When the Netherlands qualified as one of the Final 8 teams at the Davis Cup, it gave Koolhof one last chance to represent his country before saying goodbye.
The 35-year-old was called up to play a decisive doubles rubber in their first tie of the week, joining forces with Botic van de Zandschulp.
They edged out Spain’s and Marcel Granollers in a tight two-setter 7-6(4) 7-6(3), coming from a break down in the second set.
Wesley Koolhof was honoured with a ceremony after the Netherlands’ semi-final win (Image: Getty)
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Afterwards, the world No. 8 jokingly claimed he didn’t want to play another match for the rest of the tournament so he could go out on a high, given how well he competed against the Spanish team.
“To be fair, I didn’t really think about it [being my last match]. I mean, I knew before the match we were really happy to be 1-1,” he said after booking the Dutch team’s spot in the semi-final.
“I knew obviously it’s gonna be just like last year, 1-1, deciding doubles against Carlos and Marcel. Unbelievable team, unbelievable players. But I didn’t really think much about it going to potentially be my last match.”
Asked if he still wanted to retire, Koolhof joked: “Still pretty sure. I already made a joke to the team, ‘Am I gonna play the next match?’ This is one of my best matches of my career, just kidding. Looking forward to the next one but yeah, I’m still retiring.”
Koolhof didn’t have to play another match. If a tie is decided in the first two singles matches, it is up to both teams’ discretion whether they play a dead doubles rubber – and they often choose not to.
Van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor both won their matches against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff respectively in the semis, meaning Koolhof didn’t need to step up.
And he wasn’t given the opportunity to fight for the trophy on Sunday after Berrettini and Sinner won their matches in straight sets to retain the crown following Italy’s win last year. Sinner later after winning the tournament.
“I just want to say a couple of words for Wesley Koolhof, he had an amazing career,” he said. “I think everyone is asking why he is retiring because he played amazingly the end of the year and the whole year and I wish him all of the best. He is a nice man.”