LONDON (AP) — Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini announced his retirement from professional tennis on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-setter on Day 1 of the tournament last week.

The 38-year-old Italian pushed two-time defending champion Alcaraz for more than 4 1/2 hours before coming out on the wrong end of the 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 score in the fortnight's first match at Centre Court.

That extended Fognini's losing streak to 10 consecutive tour-level matches, including an 0-7 record in 2025. He previously had said he would finish his career at the end of this season, but held a news conference at the All England Club on Wednesday to say he won't compete again.

“It’s hard to say what I will do now. I want to enjoy the summer with my family. That’s what I want more than anything right now. And then, what happens, happens,” Fognini said. “I’m happy. I lived some indescribable moments. Tennis gave me a lot. It gave me everything.”

Fognini is the husband of 2015 U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta. She famously won that title at age 33, by beating childhood friend Roberta Vinci, then surprised everyone watching by saying on court that her retirement would happen later that year.

After the match against Alcaraz, Fognini asked for one of the Spaniard's shirts as a gift for the oldest of his and Pennetta's three children. When he got to the locker room afterward, Fognini said, he got a standing ovation from other players.

“There are things that mean more than a victory or a defeat,” he said. “And (exiting) at that court, in front of my family, is worth more than any title.”

A self-described hothead, Fognini was well-known for some outlandish on-court behavior that repeatedly resulted in fines.

He was docked $3,000 at Wimbledon in 2019 for saying during a match that he wished “a bomb would explode at the club” and a then-record $27,500 in 2014 for a series of outbursts. He was put on a two-year probation by the Grand Slam Board in 2017 after insulting a female chair umpire at the U.S. Open and getting kicked out of that tournament's doubles event.

During the Italian-language portion of Wednesday's news conference, Fognini told reporters from his country he wished he hadn’t clashed with them so often over the years.

This was the 63rd Grand Slam event for Fognini, whose best result was getting to the quarterfinals at the 2011 French Open, although he didn’t play in that round there because of an injured thigh, allowing his opponent, Novak Djokovic, to advance.

Fognini leaves the sport with nine tour singles titles, the last at Monte Carlo in 2019. Later that year, he reached No. 9 in the ATP rankings, the first man from Italy in the top 10 since 1979. In doubles, Fognini also got to No. 7 and won eight titles.

He was ranked 138th in singles before Wimbledon.

“I did this job for 20 years,” Fognini said, “and I don't know how to do anything else.”

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis