Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the winningest team in doubles history, have announced that they are retiring from tennis.
The Bryans end their 22-year professional playing career with an Open Era-record 119 titles, including 16 Grand Slam championships (six at the Australian Open, two at Roland Garros, three at Wimbledon, and five at the US Open), 39 ATP Masters 1000 crowns and four year-ending ATP Finals trophies.
The brothers, 42, spent 438 weeks together as the No. 1 doubles team in the world, including an unprecedented 139 consecutive weeks between Feb. 25, 2013, and Oct. 25, 2015, and finished as year-end No. 1s 10 times. They notched a 25-5 record together in 30 ties in Davis Cup competition, helping Team USA to the Davis Cup championship in 2007.
They captured the “Bryan Golden Slam” during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, first taking home the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games and then winning the next four majors, starting with the 2012 US Open, followed by the 2013 Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. They narrowly missed capturing the calendar-year Grand Slam that year, falling in the semifinals of the 2013 US Open.
"We’re most proud of the way we devoted ourselves completely to the game and gave our full effort every day," Bob Bryan said. "Our loyalty toward each other never wavered, and we are leaving professional tennis with zero regrets. We’ll miss the competition and camaraderie amongst the players. We’ll also miss the excitement of gearing up for a big match and playing for the roar of the fans."
"We feel it’s the right time to walk away," said Mike Bryan. "We’ve given over 20 years to the Tour, and we are now looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. With that said, we feel very blessed to have been able to play the game of doubles for so long. We are grateful to have had the opportunities in the beginning of the year to play and say our goodbyes to the fans. Winning our final event in Delray Beach [in February] and clinching the Davis Cup tie in Honolulu are moments we’ll forever remember and cherish."
The Bryans made 24 appearances together as a team at the US Open, highlighted by winning five titles (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014), finishing runner-up once (2003), reaching four semifinals (2002, 2009, 2013, 2017) and advancing to three quarterfinals (2000, 2007, 2016).
They won their first career Grand Slam title at the 2005 US Open, and went on to have a stellar run in New York, making 24 appearances together as a team, winning five titles (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014), finishing runner-up once (2003), reaching four semifinals (2002, 2009, 2013, 2017) and advancing to three quarterfinals (2000, 2007, 2016).
The twins, who had originally announced their plans to retire after the 2020 US Open last November before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, will be the first ATP players who will quality for automatic inclusion on the Hall of Fame ballot, under policy amendments that were instituted in 2018, and will be on the ballot for the Class of 2025 in their first year of eligibility.
