Raven Klaasen

South African doubles star Raven Klaasen has touched on the fact that his career on the ATP circuit is drawing to a close. Photo: Tennis SA

EXCLUSIVE: The end is near for Raven Klaasen’s career

South African doubles star Raven Klaasen has touched on the fact that his career on the ATP circuit is drawing to a close.

Raven Klaasen

South African doubles star Raven Klaasen has touched on the fact that his career on the ATP circuit is drawing to a close. Photo: Tennis SA

South African doubles star Raven Klaasen has touched on the fact that his career on the ATP circuit is drawing to a close.

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Speaking exclusively to The South African website’s Dave Marshall following his first-round exit at the French Open on Thursday, Klaasen described a few of the things he enjoys about playing on tour.

“The challenge of winning matches on tour is fun. I enjoyed getting myself to perform at my peak for many years. I enjoyed discussing tennis and looking for improvements.”

So, what’s next after playing professional tennis?

“It’s on the radar for me to figure out what to do after tennis. I like tennis, so the best-case scenario would be for me to be involved in tennis in some capacity.”

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Raven Klaasen is open to helping the next generation of South African tennis players.

“Coaching is something I would prefer. For the last 10-15 years, I’ve been singularly focused on improving my individual performance and learning along the way.

“I would like the challenge of maximising the abilities of others.

“I would like to improve the state of tennis, how it is taught locally, and how people are driven to pursue the game.

“I would still like to challenge myself daily, working on improving those small margins and trying to maximise performance as much as I can.”

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Lloyd Harris, who partnered Klaasen in their 7-5, 6-2 loss to Spanish pairing Jaume Munar and Roberto Carballes Baena, chipped in that he “would still like to see the ‘Fox’ around on tour.”

Wimbledon is my favourite tournament – Raven Klaasen

There is still a chance that Harris and Klassen may team up as a doubles combination at Wimbledon next month.

“I’d like to be at Wimbledon. I’ve gone back to see where my ranking is at, my body, those kinds of things at my age.”

Raven Klaasen added that he loves the grass at Wimbledon.

“It’s probably my favourite tournament if I had to choose one.

“It’s a couple of weeks away from the entry deadline for the doubles, so I’ll see how that goes.”

It would be fantastic for South African tennis if these two players, at very different stages of their respective careers, could play together at least once more.

Dave Marshall is covering the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros exclusively for The South African website