"Distasteful and absolutely insane", "Such a shame" - Fans aghast by Daniil Medvedev being asked about retirement at 28 after Rotterdam loss

Daniil Medvedev faced a shocking 3-6, 7-6(6), 3-6 second-round loss to 23-year-old Italian Mattia Bellucci at the 2025 ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam. In the post-match press conference, a reporter asked the Russian a bizarre question about his retirement. However, several fans later lambasted the reporter for asking the question considering Medvedev's age.

Medvedev's second-round exit from the 2025 ABN AMRO Open marked yet another low for the former World No. 1. Earlier, at the 2025 Australian Open, the Russian was ousted in the second round by American teenager Learner Tien.

When asked about potentially retiring amid his poor run of form, the 28-year-old replied:

"I don't think that's gonna happen soon. I like tennis, I'm still winning a lot of money, so I'm gonna continue playing until I can do it. Then, if I drop out of top 100, then I don't know... but this is probably not gonna happen. I'm pretty sure I can come back strong enough. The question is, when? Tomorrow? Next month? In 12 months? This, I don't know."

Many tennis fans on X were appalled by the nature of the question fielded by the reporter to Daniil Medvedev.

"Asking someone who's not even 30, has a slam, has been sitting comfortably in that top 10 for A WHILE if they're thinking about retirement after a bad season (still played a slam final mind you) is distasteful at best and absolutely insane at worst. LMAO do they know the players?" a fan asked.

"Who tf even asked about f**king "retirement" from a 28 yo? Are these so called journalists really okay? Bffr this is all come to those small brains of them to ask from an athlete who is just experiencing some ups and downs? This sport deserves better than this. Such a shame," commented another.

"Why are you asking a 28/29 yo this? Kinda messy," another chimed in.

Here are some more reactions from fans on the subject:

"RETIREMENT QUESTIONS???? He’s 28 not 38 and even that in today’s tennis that is not something so extraordinary," wrote one fan.

"Did they seriously ask him that," another added.

"Retiring at 29-30 used to be a norm for top players. Safin retired at 29. Kafelnikov retired at 29. Roddick retired a couple of weeks after turning 30. Rafter retired a few weeks before turning 29. But yes, there's a lot more $ if you are ranked 50-100 these days than 20 yrs ago," yet another fan weighed in.

In the aftermath of Daniil Medvedev's loss to Mattia Bellucci, a former ATP pro shed light on how players are now aware of what they need to do to come out on top against the Russian.

Jimmy Arias believes ATP Tour players have 'figured out' an effective way to beat Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev sprints to return a shot against Mattia Bellucci at the 2025 ABN AMRO Open (Source: Getty)

There was a time when most players found it hard to get the better of Daniil Medvedev. This stemmed from the Russian's extremely defensive style of play coupled with his high tennis IQ, which made it complicated for opponents to penetrate him. However, recently, he has been troubled by significantly lower-ranked opponents such as Learner Tien and Mattia Bellucci who have forced the former No. 1 to come forward more often.

According to American former ATP No. 5 Jimmy Arias, more and more players are now turning to this approach to give them a chance of winning against the Russian.

"I think players have finally figured out that you can't hit through him. If you try to overpower him when he's way back and defending, you're not going to get it done. You have to open the court, you got to bring him forward, you got to serve and volley, and players have finally started doing that," Arias told Tennis Channel.

Daniil Medvedev has yet to register a title triumph since his 2023 Italian Open final victory against Holger Rune. The Russian also made a recent coaching change by parting ways with Gilles Simon nearly a year after roping him in. Medvedev's decision stemmed from a lack of titles during the time Simon was a part of his coaching setup.