Britain’s Dan Evans has played the last professional singles match of his career after losing to Tristan Schoolkate in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
The 36-year-old announced earlier this month that he would retire after the Championships, which starts on Monday.
Evans missed out on one of the eight singles wildcards, meaning he needed to win three matches in Roehampton this week to play one last singles tournament at SW19.
But his singles career came to a disappointing end as he suffered a 7-5 6-0 defeat in a match that was disrupted by an issue with the electronic line calling system.
Evans, however, will still play at Wimbledon after being given a wildcard into the men’s doubles with Henry Searle.
Watched on by a packed-out home crowd at Roehampton, Evans seemed to be enjoying himself and playing with freedom during a tight first set against Australian Schoolkate.
At 5-4 down, he entertained the fans with a brilliant forehand winner – hitting it down the line after diving to the floor to reach a Schoolkate drop shot.
That earned him a standing ovation and he remained on the floor to celebrate, pretending to swim on the pristine green court.
However, it was Schoolkate who clinched the opener before the second set was delayed for more than an hour when the electronic line calling system stopped working.
“There was a temporary loss of power to part of our qualifying venue, which meant that the electronic line calling system could not function,” a spokesperson for the All England Club said.
When play eventually resumed, Evans was unable to match Schoolkate’s level. He failed to win a single game and walked off court looking downcast after the world number 147 wrapped up the second set in 22 minutes.
“It’s not an easy match up. Dan is a phenomenal player and I wish him all the best for after his career,” Schoolkate said.
“I’ve looked up to guys like him for a long time. So much of the tennis today is the same old, same old. Watching him, the way he jinks it around, his slices are amazing, he’s a great competitor and so many young kids can learn a lot from Dan.”
Evans won two ATP Tour-level singles tournaments, while he was part of the 2015 Davis Cup team that secured Great Britain’s first title in 79 years.
In 2024, he sacrificed the 500 ranking points he had won at the Washington Open the previous year to partner Sir Andy Murray for his final tournament at the Paris Olympics.
With temperatures reaching 34C and a red weather warning in place in London on Wednesday, ball kids were stood down and replaced by members of the court services team, who are all adults.
