“After 22 years being on the PSA World Tour, today I have decided to retire.
“It has been a long road with lots of fantastic and amusing moments and some bumps on the way. As a kid, I wanted to be a professional squash player and I feel very lucky to have done my passion as a job. I really enjoyed all the hard work throughout these years to try to become the best player I could possibly be.
“I’m fortunate to say that I achieved most of my squash career goals, of course I would always want more, but at least I lifted some of the most prestigious and beautiful trophies, bringing my childhood dreams to fruition. The last three years were mentally and physically the toughest by far, having a year off due to two knee surgeries was an unexpected challenge to face and it was not the way I wanted to end my career.
“However, I’m still proud that I managed to play and compete again. I will always take some comfort that I did all I possibly could to get back to the top and I will always take it as a life experience.
“All of my accomplishments and multiple comebacks wouldn’t have been possible without the help, belief and support of my family, friends, coaches, physios, doctors, clubs, sponsors, the French Federation and everyone else who was watching and cheering, so a huge thank you to all.
“The squash tour has given me the opportunity to discover different countries, play some monumental matches in stunning places and live unique moments with the incredible energy and support of the crowds. In addition to meeting lots of wonderful people, who have become my friends, it was a rich adventure overall. Today, I am almost 39 years old and I felt the magical journey of squash pass so quickly.
“I didn’t really see the sands of time running out, so my advice to anyone would be to appreciate what you have while you have it and cherish every moment. If I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. I will miss competing on the tour, however I will always be keeping an eagle eye on players’ performances.
“But for now, I must embrace the realms of reality and realise it’s time to close that chapter full of memories and move on. I will obviously stay involved in the sport that brought me so much. One last thanks to PSA, SQUASHTV, all the promoters and all the media for all of those years and I truly hope the tour keeps growing. Thanks everyone, take care, stay healthy and see you guys very soon and maybe on SQUASHTV.
“Au revoir from the ‘French General’.”
