It was an emotional scene Friday on Court 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. After Bruno Soares missed a forehand volley into the net, he shared a lengthy embrace with partner Jamie Murray. It was not only the end of their US Open, but the last match of Soares’ career.
The 40-year-old Brazilian was part of the year-end No. 1 pair in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings twice, claimed 35 tour-level men’s doubles titles, lifted six Grand Slam trophies — three in men’s doubles and three in mixed doubles — and won 545 tour-level matches in his illustrious career.
Soares, who knew 2022 would be his final season within the first few months of the year, is thrilled with all he accomplished on the court. But the locker-room favourite is even more touched by the outpouring of support he has received from his colleagues and fans.
“It’s kind of overwhelming to see how much I’ve been through, but also for me I think the nicest part is just friends, family, fans, everyone, the messages that I got. I think this is for me the most special part,” Soares told ATPTour.com. “[There have been] so many good things to read and I’ve always said the titles, the career, they are really amazing. In the end of the day, it’s the person that counts, so I feel extremely blessed and honoured to be able to get all this love and amazing support and messages in this special moment of my life.”
One of those messages came from fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo. The former doubles World No. 1 posted on social media a series of images with Soares. They both are from Belo Horizonte and have grown up to take on the world of professional tennis together.
“It was very special to have a guy like Bruno from the same city, travelling as a friend as well. It was very nice and comfortable, many times taking airplanes together. Achieving many big titles… growing up from Belo to conquer the world, it was very nice,” Melo said. “Bruno is also a very nice guy, everybody likes him a lot. He [is always in] a very good mood, always positive. It was very fun to share the court with him during this period of time.
“I wish good luck for him in the next chapter of his life. For sure he’s going to be as good as he was in tennis.”
Soares’ tennis journey began in Iraq. His father Malthus was a civil engineer working on a highway, and their family lived in a camp. While Malthus worked, Soares’ mother, Maisa, looked after the family….
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