Leander Paes rules out retirement: I still love my tennis
At the age of 43, Leander Paes has reiterated his desire to continue playing professionally, dismissing reports of his retirement as āa bit of misunderstandingā on the part of the reporters. Paes, who was knocked out of the Chennai Open, has also insisted that he will be back next year.
Paes and his new partner Andre Sa began the new year with a defeat against Purav Raja and Divij Sharan in the first round of the Chennai Open. Paes, however, said, āI hope to be back and I hope to be holding this trophy again,ā reported PTI.
Recent reports suggested that Leander Paes is edging towards retirement from professional tennis, however, the 18-time Grand Slam title winner has revealed that those reports are theĀ result of aĀ misunderstandingĀ on the part of the reporters.
āI will keep playing hard and keep playing strong. I think there was a bit of misunderstanding the other day when Somdev pronounced retirement. Someone asked me a question and I said, it could be today, tomorrow or six months or somewhere down the track and all of a sudden it became like if Leander is retiring,ā Paes said.
The Kolkata-born tennis star has reiterated that he retains his passion for the game. He said, āThings were put of context but thatās fine. I still love my tennis, I am really passionate about it.ā