"He represented everything I've always loved about tennis" - Tennis fans hail Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after French Open swan song

French tennis great Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bid adieu to tennis on Tuesday after his first-round exit at the 2022 French Open. Just like he did throughout his career, the Frenchman fought hard until the very end of his final match, against World No. 8 Casper Ruud.

Tennis fans flooded social media with tributes for Tsonga, who bid farewell to his home crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The former Australian Open finalist was in tears as he soaked in the applause and a standing ovation from fans on the court.

"Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was one of the guys who first inspired me to pick up a racquet as a kid. He represented everything I've always loved about tennis - passion, creativity, style, and that sense of class and humility that makes our sport unique," a fan wrote.

After the match, the former World No. 5 was given a wonderful farewell by the French Tennis Association. His compatriots Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Benoit Paire, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert were part of the special presentation.

"This was such a cool send-off for Tsonga, all the way until injuring his shoulder when serving for the 4th. Even if he lost this one, to have a full match like that in front of the crowd would have been so fantastic.Terrible luck, but a beautiful display up until that point," one fan wrote.

Other competitors he has faced over the years had some kind words for the Frenchman in a video played on the big screen on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Among them were Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.

Djokovic, who played Tsonga in the final of the 2008 Australian Open, said that the Frenchman was a charismatic player who left his mark on the sport.

“He’s one of the most charismatic players to play the game,” said Djokovic. “He brought a lot of attention to the sport because of his charismatic game style. It’s a tremendous loss to men’s tennis, but he has made his mark on our sport.”

Playing against a top-10 player who won a title in Geneva just days ago, the Frenchman was ready for battle. He bagged the opening set and troubled Ruud throughout the match, looking like his old self at multiple stages in the match. Unfortunately, the Frenchman injured his shoulder towards the end of the fourth set, hampering his momentum. Tsonga fought hard but ultimately lost 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(0) to Ruud in the first round.

Fans sympathized with him over an unfortunate end to a great career.

"Tennis is a cruel sport. We saw it with del Potro as well — just because you love it doesn’t mean it will love you back. Tsonga gave a lot of himself to the sport for a long time. His career deserved to have a better last few minutes," one account wrote.

In a touch of class, Ruud also paid a wonderful tribute to his opponent after the match and refused to talk about his own performance despite winning.

“It’s tough for me and all the players that you’re stopping. You’ve been an inspiration to me and so many of the other players, so thank you for the memories,” Ruud said.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's biggest career achievements

2022 French Open - Day Three

The flamboyant Frenchman shot to fame after reaching the 2008 Australian Open final as an unseeded player. He defeated many seeded players, including Murray and Nadal, en route to the final, where he lost to Djokovic. He backed up his run to the final Down Under by winning the Paris Masters in 2008.

He reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in 2012, and also won the Olympic silver medal in the men's doubles category after partnering with Michael Llodra that same year. He won his second Masters 1000 title at the 2014 Canadian Open, beating Federer in the final. He was also part of the French team that won the Davis Cup title in 2017.

In another impressive stat, he is one of three players (along with Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro) to beat Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic when they were ranked No. 1 in the world.

In all, he won 18 singles titles and four doubles titles in his professional career.