By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday November 13, 2019
The most decorated doubles team and siblings in tennis history will call it quits at the 2020 US Open.
Mike and Bob Bryan, holders of 16 Grand Slam team doubles titles and 118 ATP team doubles titles, announced that they will play their last season in 2020 and finish at their home Slam—the 2020 US Open.
“We decided that 2020 at the Open, we’re going to shut it down,” Bob Bryan said in an interview with Jim Courier and Brett Haber at Tennis Channel. “One more season, and we’re excited for it.”
The identical twins from Camarillo, California have basically rewritten the tennis record books since they turned pro 21 years ago in 1998. Since they first climbed to the No.1 ranking in 2003 they have held the ATP’s top spot for a record 438 weeks and finished a total of ten seasons as the ATP’s year-end No.1 doubles team.
“We’ve been on tour for 21 years, more than half our live,” said Bob Bryan. “Tennis is in our blood, so yeah, a part of us feels like we’re dying, but we’re really clear about this decision, and it’s going to be great down the finish line.”
The Bryans skipped this year’s ATP Finals to rest up and confer about their future, and they hope to be fully rested and ready to have a big final season. Bob Bryan underwent hip surgery in 2018 and has now had a full season to recover.
“We played a full schedule [in 2019] It was tough on the body, we kind of shut down after the Open,” said Bob Bryan. “Reflect, freshen up mentally but also strengthen the bodies for this one last push.”
“We want to go out together,” said Mike Bryan. “It’s great that [Bob] came back on his own terms, and now we can finish this thing. We really want to play hard next year, give it our best shot to finish strong, but also play with the love and the passion that we had when we turned pro.”
The Bryans plan to play all four majors and the American tournaments. They’ll be a little selective about their travel plans and make sure that they are in good enough shape to peak at the biggest events. 2020 figures to be a busy year and the twins are likely to make a run at a second Gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
It should be an emotional run for the legendary siblings, and for the legions of fans that they’ve accumulated over the years as well.
“Hopefully give back to the fans,” said Mike Bryan. “The fans have really supported us over the years. Just soak it all in. Take the blinders off. We always wanted to win and we’re laser focused, but we’re going to look around a little more and take it all in.”