WATCH: Steve Johnson in tears after farewell match in Indian Wells qualifiers

Steve Johnson was in tears after playing the final match of his career in the qualifying rounds of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The American entered the qualifiers of the Masters 1000 event and faced compatriot Emilio Nava in the first round. He won the first set via a tiebreak but Nava bounced back and won the second set in a similar fashion to force the match into a tiebreaker. Nava won the final set 6-4 to win the match and reach the second qualifying round in Indian Wells.

Johnson got emotional after the match and was in tears as he waved goodbye to the fans with his wife Kendall Bateman and kids present with him.

Johnson is currently ranked 242nd in the world. Before the Indian Wells qualifiers, he competed very sporadically in 2024.

The American first took part in the qualifying rounds of the Dallas Open and booked his place in the main draw following wins over Timo Stodder and Terence Atmane. Here, he faced compatriot Christopher Eubanks and lost 6-4, 6-1.

He then competed in the qualifying rounds of the Los Cabos Open where he suffered a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Steve Johnson won four singles titles throughout his career

Steve Johnson in action at the 2022 Winston Salem Open

Steve Johnson turned professional in 2012 and played till 2024. He won four singles titles throughout his career, the first of those coming at the Nottingham Open in 2016, beating Pablo Cuevas in the final. The following year, he won the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston by defeating Thomaz Bellucci in the final.

The American successfully defended his title in 2018, beating Tennys Sandgren in the final. That year, he also won his last singles title at the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport with a win over Ramkumar Ramanathan in the title clash.

Steve Johnson's best performance at a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. His sole quarterfinal appearance at a Masters 1000 event came at the 2016 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. That year, he also attained a career-high ranking of 21.

Johnson also has an Olympic medal to his name which he clinched in 2016. He partnered Jack Sock in the men's doubles tournament and the pair were beaten by the Romanian pair of Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea in the semifinals. However, they triumphed over the Canadian duo of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil to claim the bronze medal.