Kevin Anderson, the seven-time ATP Tour titlist who climbed as high as No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is making his return to professional tennis. The South African will begin his comeback at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, which has awarded him a wild card.
Anderson announced his retirement last May and has not competed since last year’s Miami Open presented by Itau. He will be returning at a tournament in Newport where he won his last title in 2021.
“I’m thrilled to make my return to the Tour in Newport,” Anderson said. “Winning the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in 2021 was a special moment for me. I couldn’t think of a better place to make my comeback, and I’m excited to hit the grass once again.”
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Anderson has reached two major finals in his career and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018, reaching the semi-finals of the season finale.
The South African first cracked the world’s Top 5 in 2018 aged 32, becoming just the fifth player to break into the Top 5 for the first time after turning 30. Three of the players who did so — Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe — achieved the feat in 1973 or 1974, within the first year of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“When I retired, it was tough. I was dealing with a lot of physical pain. Just a lot of parts of the body were really making it difficult to compete the way I wanted to, but also emotionally and mentally it was very challenging and I felt like I needed to stop playing,” Anderson said. “When I retired I didn’t know if I was going to play again or not. Most of last year I wasn’t planning to. But a couple months ago I started hitting again and just really enjoyed being out there.
“My body felt much better and what I was doing with the tennis ball was really exciting to me and made me want to challenge myself again. I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity but fortunately Newport has given me one, so I wanted to go out there and play again.”
Anderson hopes to compete in more tournaments following the Newport ATP 250.
Other players who have entered the Infosys Hall of Fame Open include four-time champion John Isner, defending champion Maxime Cressy, World No. 15 Tommy Paul and Mallorca champion Christopher Eubanks.