Kevin Anderson announces comeback from retirement, gets wildcard to compete in Newport

Former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson has announced his decision to make a U-turn on his retirement.

Anderson is set to be back in action at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport later this month. Incidentally, it was at the ATP 250 event, which gets underway on July 17, where he won his last tour-level title, defeating Jenson Brooksby in the 2021 final.

The South African expressed his delight at getting the opportunity to make his comeback at an event where he has previously emerged victorious. Anderson also revealed that he began thinking about a comeback only a few months ago.

“I’m thrilled to make my return to the Tour in Newport. Winning the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in 2021 was a special moment for me. I couldn’t think of a better place to make my comeback, and I’m excited to hit the grass once again,” he said. (via ATP)

“Most of last year I wasn’t planning to [make a comeback]. But a couple months ago I started hitting again and just really enjoyed being out there,” he added. “My body felt much better and what I was doing with the tennis ball was really exciting to me and made me want to challenge myself again. I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity but fortunately Newport has given me one, so I wanted to go out there and play again.”

Four-time champion John Isner, defending champion Maxime Cressy, Tommy Paul, and Christopher Eubanks are some of the other players who will be in action in Newport this year.

A brief look at Kevin Anderson's tennis career

Kevin Anderson is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up. He lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2017 US Open final and was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the 2018 Wimbledon summit clash.

He also qualified for the ATP Finals in 2018, where he made a semifinal exit following his defeat to Djokovic. When Anderson achieved his career-high ATP tanking at the age of 32 in 2018, he became only the fifth player to break into the top five for the first time after turning 30.

Overall, he has won seven ATP Tour titles. He became the top African in ATP rankings history and was also a recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2019. He was a longtime member of the ATP Player Council, where he has also served as the president.

Anderson announced his retirement in May last year and has not been in action since the 2022 Miami Open. Looking back at his decision to walk away from the sport, he recalled dealing with a lot of physical pain and being emotionally and mentally challenged.

“When I retired, it was tough. I was dealing with a lot of physical pain. Just a lot of parts of the body were really making it difficult to compete the way I wanted to, but also emotionally and mentally it was very challenging and I felt like I needed to stop playing. When I retired I didn’t know if I was going to play again or not,” he said.