Canada's Milos Raonic retires from tennis at 35

Canada's former world number three, Milos Raonic, announced his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 35 on Sunday.

Known for his powerful serve, which earned him the nickname "Missile," Raonic's career peaked in 2016, when he reached the Australian Open semifinals and the Wimbledon final, both of which he lost to Andy Murray.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Raonic expressed mixed emotions about his retirement, acknowledging his deep love for tennis while reflecting on the privilege of living his dream and striving for continuous improvement throughout his career.

"This is a moment you know will come one day, but somehow you never feel ready for it. This is as ready as I will ever be. Tennis has been my love and obsession for most of my life," Raonic wrote.

"I have been the luckiest person to get to live out and fulfil my dreams. I got to show up every day and focus on just getting better, seeing where that would take me."

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Raonic moved to Canada at the age of three. Turning professional in 2008, he won his first ATP title in 2011.

Raonic played in four Masters 1000 finals between 2013 and 2020 but was defeated each time, first by Rafael Nadal at the Canadian Open and later three times by Novak Djokovic.

His loss to Djokovic in the 2020 Cincinnati Masters marked his last appearance in an ATP final, and his final tour-level event was a first-round defeat to Germany's Dominik Koepfer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"What's next? I won't be slowing down," Raonic added in his post. "There is so much more life to live, and I am as motivated and hungry as I was in 2011, when I broke through on tour."