STARNBERG, November 30, 2018

Max Mirnyi has announced his retirement from professional tennis. The 41-year-old from Belarus became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 in August 2003. Mirnyi finished in the top 50 for seven straight years and represented his country in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a record of 47 wins and 27 losses in 35 ties played.

Mirny, nicknamed “The Beast” for his size and fearless play, reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in June 2003 and captured 10 Grand Slam titles. He lifted a total of 52 doubles trophies. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Minsk native carried the flag of Belarus at the Opening Ceremony and won the Gold medal in the Mixed Doubles with Victoria Azarenka.

“I want to inform you today that I decided that 2018 would be the last season in my professional career. It was a difficult decision for me, considering that tennis has been my life since my early childhood. I am happy that I managed to enjoy this game so long! When representing myself or playing for the country, I always treated my profession with a high degree of pride and respect, always worked with full dedication and, therefore, I quit the game without any regret and only with positive feeling! I managed to achieve much more than the kid from Minsk could dream, when he first took a racket in his hand,” Maxim Mirnyi noted in a statement on the homepage of the Belarusian Tennis Federation.