Credit : RDS.
He was not the first, and he will probably not be the last player to fail to meet the exaggerated expectations of tennis experts towards promising junior talents.
Nevertheless, Tomic remains an exception in the world of tennis, due to his career and his brilliant beginnings on the ATP tour, of course, but especially because of his complete withdrawal from a discipline he once seemed to fall in love with.
Bernard Tomic winning the Sydney ATP tournament, Credit : Sky Sports.
Youngest ever winner of a Junior Grand Slam title, three-time winner of the Orange Bowl, in 2009 everything seemed to be going Bernard Tomic's way. The future tennis star was already signing partnerships with the biggest sports equipment brands.
His early appearances in major tournaments proved it—Tomic had all the makings of a future world number 1, if not for his behavior, which was already earning him a reputation as the 'bad boy of tennis' among Australian tennis authorities.
On the court, however, Tomic at that time seemed to show great determination, which even led him to compete equally against the very best in world tennis, reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon 2011, his game adapting perfectly to the London grass
Tomic reaching the 4rth Round of the AO 2012 after defeating Dolgopolov credit : The Telegraph
Then came the 2017 season, marked by almost indifferent defeats, controversial remarks, and a relationship often deemed toxic with his father and coach, John Tomic. This time, Tomic's ranking plummeted, falling from 26th to 140th in the world, even worse : The Aussie no longer seemed to enjoy playing the sport.
We are in 2025, and the rare appearances of the Australian have become almost bad jokes as the former world number 2 junior player seems utterly disengaged. Over the past seven years, Bernard Tomic has continued to slide down the ATP ranking, eventually fading into obscurity far from the spotlight that once dazzled him.
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