Steve Johnson "never cheated the game of tennis" in ATP career that ends at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—On Sunday, Steve Johnson hung up his racquet at the tournament that inspired him to win four ATP singles titles and an Olympic bronze medal after earning the distinction of greatest men’s player in NCAA history.

Having fallen in the qualifying of singles at Indian Wells this past Monday, Johnson walked out at the BNP Paribas Open one last time for a doubles contest with countryman Tommy Paul. The two were defeated by Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, 6-2, 7-6 (3), on Stadium 4.

“The decision to retire here was super easy. I grew up coming here as a kid forever,” Johnson reflected with Steve Weissman and Prakash Amritraj afterwards on Tennis Channel. “For me, this was always home and its where I wanted to kind of end.

“I’m very lucky, not everyone gets that opportunity to do it on their terms.”

I’m most proud of the way I was a competitor. Never felt like I cheated the game of tennis. Never felt like I left anything up to question.

Johnson capped his career at the University of Southern California with a 72-match win streak before testing his game full-time as a professional. He peaked at No. 21 in the singles rankings on July 25, 2016 shortly after achieving his best major result at Wimbledon when he advanced to the round of 16. In August of that year, Johnson joined forces to capture the bronze medal with Jack Sock in men’s doubles at the Rio Olympics and joined elite company by overtaking John Isner as the top-ranked American man in singles.

Now 34 and married with two daughters, Johnson knew it was time to close this chapter when discovering he no longer had the motivation to go through all the motions required for a player to maintain a constant presence at the highest level.

“The tennis started to feel more like a job and a chore than the enjoyment and fun that I had. All the little things that went into it—the rehab, the warm ups the cool downs, the travel, that was just becoming really unenjoyable,” he said. “But the competing still is fun. I love to go out there and compete with whoever it is. That will never get old.”

Johnson finished with a 197-204 record in tour-level singles matches, clinching a pair of grass-court titles to go with consecutive Houston trophies raised in 2017-18. His best career win by ranking came over No. 7 Dominic Thiem in the first round of 2017 Tokyo.

For all he accomplished, it’s the way Johnson left it out on the court that matters most.

“I think at the end of the day, I’m most proud of the way I was a competitor. Never felt like I cheated the game of tennis. Never felt like I left anything up to question. If there was something in my power to do, I did it,” the Orange, Calif. native declared.

“I hope when competitors were going over their game plan to play me, their coach would have said, ‘from first ball to last ball, he’s gonna fight you for it.’”

Regarding what comes next, Johnson is in no hurry to jump into another lane. Right now, he'll gladly exchange workouts for everyday parental duties.

“For ow, I’m going to take some time off. Not go to the gym as much. Switch it up, do a lot more pick ups, drop offs at school. Maybe some more play dates in our future.”