Houston–
After losing his first round match in Houston to Tomas Machac, Jack Sock surprisingly took the microphone after the match to speak with the crowd. Normally the on-court interview is reserved for match winners so it was certainly a surprise to see Sock request to talk with the crowd. He thanked the crowd for being great at “one of [his] favorite tournaments” where he won his first title.
Sock finished his comment with “this is going to be my last time here this year, so I just wanted to thank you guys for everything,” seemingly hinting at an upcoming retirement from the game. He did not make any formal statements and it could simply be tournament specific, but he has played Houston eight of the last nine years the tournament was held, the one year he missed was due to injury. Skipping an American tournament that has been a regular part of his schedule seems unlikely so signs point to him stepping away from the sport.
Career (so far) in Review
Sock has had a great career before significantly fading over the past few years. He peaked in 2017 where he captured the Paris Masters title and won three of his four career titles. He finished the year ranked world #8 and was the top-ranked American at that time. A difficult 2018 saw him drop to world #106 at year’s end. Sock would never fully rebound from the drop in form and has been outside the top-100 ever since. Sock does have a distinguished singles career with four titles and eight finals. While highlighted by his triumph in Paris, he played well on all surfaces, winning titles on clay, hard, and indoor hard.
Doubles is where Sock truly stood out. He is a decorated doubles player with 17 titles, including three Grand Slams, titles with nine different partners, and an Olympic bronze medal on top of the gold medal he won in mixed doubles. Sock stepped in to partner with Mike Bryan in 2018 when Bob was out due to a hip surgery. The two doubles stars immediately formed a top team, winning Wimbledon, the US Open, and the ATP Finals. Before Bryan, Sock had his most success with Canadian Vasek Pospisil, winning Wimbledon in their first tournament together on the way to four additional titles.
What is Next for Sock?
Sock did not directly say he was retiring from tennis, so it is certainly possible that he will continue playing beyond this season. He is still ranked inside the top-100 in doubles, despite never committing full-time to that side of the game. With doubles being less physical than singles, Sock could have plenty of time to reinvent himself as a doubles specialist at just 30-years-old.
If he is truly finished with tennis, the signs point toward Pickleball as the logical next option. The sport has exploded in America and Sock recently announced that he will be playing in the PPA North Carolina Open next month. Fellow American Noah Rubin, a former ATP professional once ranked as high as world #125, recently made the switch to professional pickleball and Sock may also look to try his hand at the sport. Of course, at this point this remains speculation, but the way Sock looked after losing in the first round of Houston certainly suggested that he had made his decision. As for what may be next, only time will tell.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
