NEW YORK — Donald Young didn’t cry when his tennis career came to an end on Thursday afternoon in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Even when a video was played on a screen of some of his best moments from the tournament over the years, and he was given a standing ovation from those in attendance, he simply smiled.
He had just lost the mixed doubles final at the US Open with his partner Taylor Townsend 7-6 (0), 7-5 to Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani, and while the result didn’t go their way, it still felt like a perfect ending to this chapter of his life.
“I’ve done my little crying at home thinking about [retirement from tennis],” Young said later. “I’ve gotten emotional. But it was such an exciting moment as well, maybe if we’d have got whooped up first round it would have been a little more emotional, but we made it to the final and we had a chance. It was a few points here or there.
“In that sense I was pretty happy and proud that we were able to go that far or do that well, and it kind of made me feel good about how I was able to go out.”
While most players could only dream about playing their final match as a professional tennis player in a Grand Slam final, the rest of Young’s career hasn’t followed the same fairy-tale script.
Young, now 35, was a teenage prodigy and ranked No. 1 in the world as a junior. He won multiple junior Grand Slam titles and looked poised to be the next great American star. While there were flashes of the brilliance many were expecting — including three top-10 wins — he never was able to live up to the hype and expectations.
He reached two ATP singles finals but didn’t win a title. He made the fourth round at the US Open twice — his best singles result at a major — but had more success in doubles. He made it to the 2017 French Open final with Santiago Gonzalez but lost in three sets. His ranking peaked at No. 38 in 2012.
Taylor Townsend’s runner-up speech had us in our feels. pic.twitter.com/HHM66Njy0f
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2024
Young’s last tour-level victory came in 2021 and he played primarily Challenger level events in 2022 and 2023. Prior to the US Open, he hadn’t played a professional tennis match all year and, like other former tennis players, had turned his attention to pickleball and the PPA Tour. It seemed as if his once-promising tennis career was over with little fanfare or warning.
But it turns out he wasn’t quite done with the sport just yet.
Young thought he owed it to himself to…
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