PARIS (AP) — The face of Brazilian tennis no longer is able to smile on a court.
Gustavo Kuerten can't play the game he loves — and that, for years, loved him back. He retired from the tour for good in 2008 after a professional career that included three French Open titles and a stint at No. 1, and nowadays even a hit-and-giggle session is simply out of the question thanks to hip problems that required multiple operations.
"Tennis got to be a big part of my life, but it doesn't need to be," Kuerten said in an interview with The Associated Press at Roland Garros.