Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan Announce Retirement From Tennis

The identical twin brothers in tennis, Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan will retire from professional tennis after US Open 2020. The 41-year-old brothers and the most successful doubles team of tennis announced it on Tennis Channel after Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Alexander Zverev at ATP World Tour Finals 2019, London.

Bryan brothers qualified for the year-end tournament for the 17th time in their careers this year but they decided to skip the London event. “2020 at the Open, we’re going to shut it down. One more season and we’re excited about it,” Mike Bryan said.  

“Obviously a tough decision. We have been on Tour for 21 years, which is more than half of our lives. Tennis is in our blood. A part of us feels like dying. But we are clear with our decisions,” Bob Bryan added.

The Bryans brothers are mirror twins. Where one of the brothers is right-handed (Mike) and the other is left-handed (Bob). This has been an advantage for their tennis and it ensures optimal court coverage.

Both the brothers will be spending time with their growing families after they hit the sack and Mike Bryan will soon become a father. This year, the twin brothers won the Miami Open title. 

Last year, when Bob Bryan underwent hip surgery and Jack Sock was Bob’s replacement in the Bryan brothers team. Mike and Jack together won Wimbledon, US Open, and the year-end championships.

The 16 and 18-time Grand Slam Doubles champions, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan turned professionals in the year 1998. The achievements of the duo simply stand out from the rest of the doubles teams on the tour.

Bryan brothers have won multiple Olympic medals, which includes their gold medal at the London Olympics 2012. They have set an Open Era record by competing in seven consecutive men’s doubles Grand Slam finals.

Digging into their stay on the ATP’s summit, Bryan brothers have been ranked World Number one for 438 weeks (Mike has been ranked Men’s Doubles World Number one for a total of 506 weeks).

Also, they were ATP year-end World Number one for ten times and they once held the top spot for 139 consecutive weeks. 

They have been serving the ATP Tour for more than two decades and the twin brothers of tennis will be missed by the followers of the sport post Open 2020.