2003–2006: Junior US Open title and turning pro Tsonga played his first junior match in July 2000 at the age of 15 at a grade 2 tournament in the Netherlands. He had a very successful junior career; he won the
US Open boys' singles title in
2003 by defeating
Marcos Baghdatis in the final and he was a losing boys' singles semifinalist in the other three
Grand Slam events in the same year. Tsonga reached his career-high boys' singles ranking of world no. 2 on 13 October 2003. Junior Grand Slam results – Singles: Australian Open: SF (2002,
2003) French Open: SF (
2003) Wimbledon: SF (
2003) US Open:
W (
2003) Tsonga turned pro in 2004. He won three singles qualifying matches at the
2004 China Open held in September of that year to reach the singles main draw of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time in his career; in the main draw, he upset former French Open singles champion, former No. 1 and the top seed
Carlos Moyá in the first round, before losing to
Lee Hyung-taik in the second round. Tsonga suffered a string of injuries beginning late in 2004, with a herniated disc that caused him to be out of action until March 2005. Then came two right shoulder injuries later in 2005, back and abdominal ailments from October 2005 to February 2006, and the recurrence of an abdominal injury at the end of 2006. In all, he played (only the singles events of) just eight ATP Tour tournaments from August 2004 to November 2006.
2007: Top 50, first doubles title In January 2007, then ranked No. 212 in the world, Tsonga received a wild card entry into the
2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior
Grand Slam tournament match, he met sixth seed
Andy Roddick for the second time in his career. What followed was the longest tiebreak in Australian Open history in the first set, which he went on to win (20–18). Tsonga forced a tiebreak in the second set, as well. However, he went on to lose the match in four sets. He was just 21 at the time. In 2007, Tsonga won four
Challenger titles in
Tallahassee, Mexico City,
Lanzarote, and
Surbiton. Tsonga qualified for the 2007
Queen's Club Championships, while at the same time playing in the Surbiton Challenger, which he won. Between the two events, he won five matches during the course of two days. In the second round of the Queen's main draw, he met the sixth seed and defending champion, former No. 1
Lleyton Hewitt, ranked No. 16 in the
ATP rankings. Tsonga won the match after two tiebreaks to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph in ATP debut over former No. 1
Carlos Moyá, then ranked No. 6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster
Marin Čilić in the following round. At
Wimbledon 2007, where Tsonga was again awarded a wildcard entry, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Grand Slam), defeating countryman
Julien Benneteau,
Nicolás Lapentti, and
Feliciano López. His run was halted by his countryman and friend, 12th seed
Richard Gasquet, in straight sets. He did not beat a seeded player in his progress to the fourth round (
Andy Murray, the potential seed he would have faced, had dropped out). The win brought his ranking up from No. 110 to No. 74, his first time inside the top 75. Then, at the
2007 US Open, Tsonga defeated
Óscar Hernández before beating
Tim Henman in what proved to be Henman's last Major. He then lost to
Rafael Nadal in three sets. The
2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon tournament started strongly for Tsonga. Tsonga beat
Vince Spadea,
Richard Gasquet, and
Olivier Rochus, before losing to compatriot
Sébastien Grosjean. He partnered Grosjean, however, in men's doubles, where the team was awarded a wildcard. They beat top seeds
Julien Benneteau and
Michaël Llodra,
Fabrice Santoro and
Gilles Simon, and then third seeds
Arnaud Clément and
Nicolas Mahut in the semifinals. Tsonga won his first doubles title, and Grosjean won his first doubles title in three years by defeating
Łukasz Kubot and
Lovro Zovko in straight sets. By the end of the year, Tsonga saw his ranking rise over 150 ranking spots into the top 50. Tsonga began 2007 ranked No. 212, and in early July was in the top 100 at No. 74. In October, Tsonga climbed into the top 50 for the first time in his career, finishing the year ranked No. 43. Tsonga's year-end 169 ranking spots climb was the biggest climb of any player ranked in the top 75.
2008: First major final, first Masters title, top 10 in the semifinal at the
2008 Australian Open reaching his sole Grand Slam final|alt=Tsonga in a white shirt lookinh away from the camera. Starting his
2008 season at the
2008 Next Generation Adelaide International, Tsonga defeated
Victor Hănescu,
Ernests Gulbis and
Lleyton Hewitt (the top seed). However, he fell in the semifinals to
Jarkko Nieminen. In doubles, Tsonga and
Sébastien Grosjean lost to
Florian Mayer and
Chris Haggard in the first round. Tsonga played doubles in the Sydney
Medibank International with
Richard Gasquet. They scored a major upset in the final over world No. 1 team
Bob and Mike Bryan in a super-tiebreak. Tsonga began his
2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first-round match against ninth seed
Andy Murray and pulled off a four-set victory. Tsonga then defeated
Sam Warburg,
Guillermo García López,
Richard Gasquet and
Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Tsonga shocked second seed
Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He did not face a break point on his serve until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. The victory earned him a spot in his first
Grand Slam final, where he was beaten by No. 3
Novak Djokovic in four sets. Tsonga was the only player in the tournament to take a set from Djokovic. Following the tournament, he saw his ranking climb to a career-high of No. 18. Tsonga then competed at the
Indian Wells Masters, where he reached the fourth round, before losing to defending champion
Rafael Nadal in three sets. Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ATP ranking climb again to a new career high of No. 12. Tsonga pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that lasted for several months. This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. the United States. He underwent successful knee surgery and participated in the
2008 US Open. He defeated
Santiago Ventura and
Carlos Moyá, before falling to No. 5
Tommy Robredo in the third round. At the
Thailand Open he defeated
Lukáš Dlouhý,
Jürgen Melzer,
Gaël Monfils, and
Novak Djokovic to claim his first career ATP title. At the
Paris Masters, Tsonga overcame Djokovic once again to earn a place in the quarterfinals. He then defeated
Andy Roddick and
James Blake. In the final, Tsonga defeated
David Nalbandian in a competitive three-set match to capture his first career
ATP Masters Series championship. His win allowed him to secure a spot in the year-end
Tennis Masters Cup. In the round-robin portion of the Masters Cup, Tsonga lost to
Nikolay Davydenko and
Juan Martín del Potro, and beat
Novak Djokovic, but he did not advance to the semifinals.
2009: First ATP Masters 1000 doubles title |alt=Tsonga in a yellow shirt looking into the camera. Tsonga started his 2009 season in Australia at the
Brisbane International tournament. He defeated
Agustín Calleri and
Jarkko Nieminen, but lost to
Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals in three sets. Tsonga teamed up with fellow Frenchman
Marc Gicquel to win the doubles title by defeating
Fernando Verdasco and
Mischa Zverev in the final. The duo had beaten Travis Parrott and Filip Polášek, Simon Aspelin and Pavel Vízner, and Mario Ančić and Paul-Henri Mathieu en route to the finals. At the
Medibank International, Tsonga was forced to retire with a back injury before his quarterfinal match against Jarkko Nieminen. He had defeated Italy's
Simone Bolelli in straight sets to set up the clash with Nieminen. At
Australian Open Tsonga lost in the quarterfinals to
Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His rank went down to No. 14. He next entered the
South African Tennis Open in
Johannesburg, where he won his first title of the year, and third overall, by defeating
Jérémy Chardy in the final. After his triumph in South Africa, Tsonga entered the
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in
Rotterdam, where he lost to No. 1
Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in three sets. Tsonga then entered the
Open 13 in
Marseille. He defeated
Andrey Golubev,
Simone Bolelli, and
Feliciano López, before notching his fourth straight win over
Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In his second all-French final of the month, he defeated
Michaël Llodra to win his second tournament in three weeks. Tsonga was then called up to play the singles matches for
France against the
Czech Republic in their
Davis Cup first-round clash. Tsonga defeated
Radek Štěpánek, but the Czech Republic had an insurmountable 3–1 lead. Tsonga gave France a consolation point by beating
Jan Hernych. At the
BNP Paribas Open in
Indian Wells, California, Tsonga made an early exit from the tournament, as he was defeated by the Russian
Igor Andreev in the third round. At
Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he defeated
Agustín Calleri,
Robert Kendrick, and
Gilles Simon, only to lose to
Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. After skipping two tournaments, Tsonga made his return at the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, but he lost his first singles match in the clay-court season at the hands of
Richard Gasquet. In doubles, he and partner
Julien Benneteau lost to the Polish pair of
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and
Marcin Matkowski in the second round. Tsonga then entered the
Madrid Masters, but lost in round two. Afterwards, he received the 2008 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award. Tsonga then represented France at
Düsseldorf, Germany in the
ARAG World Team Cup. He won the first tie against Sweden's
Andreas Vinciguerra, but lost in doubles. Tsonga was defeated by German
Philipp Kohlschreiber, but then beat American
Robby Ginepri. However, France lost three successive ties during the week Tsonga then entered the
French Open. He recorded his first-ever match win at the tournament by defeating
Julien Benneteau in the first round. He then had wins over
Juan Mónaco and
Christophe Rochus, before his fine run ended at the hands of fifth seed
Juan Martín del Potro. Next up was the
Gerry Weber Open, Tsonga suffered a straight-set defeat against German
Tommy Haas in the second round. However, In doubles, Tsonga was paired with his French compatriot
Marc Gicquel, but they were also defeated in round two. Tsonga then entered
Wimbledon. He survived a tough four-set against
Andrey Golubev and received a walkover from
Simone Bolelli, before losing to
Ivo Karlović of Croatia. At the
Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C, Tsonga lost to the American
John Isner in the second round. Tsonga made his debut at the
Rogers Cup in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He defeated
Rainer Schüttler and
Gilles Simon. In the quarterfinals, he overcame No. 1
Roger Federer, coming back from an injury timeout after winning the first set by a dive-volley, as well as being 1–5 down in the third set. In the semifinals he lost to
Andy Murray in straight sets. At the
Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in
Cincinnati, Tsonga made an early exit from the singles category, unexpectedly losing to No. 124
Chris Guccione of Australia. In doubles, Tsonga and
Michaël Llodra lost to
Mahesh Bhupathi and
Mark Knowles in the quarterfinals. The
US Open started well with victories over
Chase Buchanan,
Jarkko Nieminen, and
Julien Benneteau. However, Tsonga lost to 11th seed Chilean
Fernando González in the fourth round. Tsonga then represented France at the
Davis Cup playoff round against the Netherlands. Tsonga defeated
Jesse Huta Galung and
Thiemo de Bakker in singles and, with partner
Michaël Llodra, won in doubles over
Thiemo de Bakker and
Igor Sijsling, wrapping up the tie 4–1. Tsonga then entered the
PTT Thailand Open, where he was the defending champion and top seed, as
Rafael Nadal withdrew just days before the tournament began. After two close matches, Tsonga crashed out to the young Serbian
Viktor Troicki in the semifinals. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category with
Fabrice Santoro, but they lost to
Mischa Zverev and
Guillermo García López in the semifinals. At the
Japan Open in Tokyo, Tsonga defeated
Mischa Zverev,
Richard Gasquet,
Ernests Gulbis, and
Gaël Monfils to reach the final. There, he beat
Mikhail Youzhny in just over an hour to clinch his third title of the season and his first-ever ATP World Tour 500 title. In the doubles category, Tsonga paired with Swiss
Stanislas Wawrinka, but they were defeated in the second round. Next up was a trip to China and the
Shanghai Masters. Tsonga defeated
Zeng Shao-Xuan, but lost to
Robin Söderling in the third round. In doubles, paired with
Julien Benneteau, he made it to the finals, where they beat sixth seeded
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and
Marcin Matkowski to win their first-ever ATP Masters 1000 doubles title. After two disappointing tournaments at
Lyon and the
Valencia Open, Tsonga entered the
Paris Masters, where he was the defending champion. He had wins over
Albert Montañés and
Gilles Simon, but lost to No. 2
Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. He ended his 2009 season staying in the top 10 for the second year in a row.
2010: Davis Cup final Tsonga switched his rackets to Babolat (previously using Wilson) and started his 2010 season at the
AAMI Kooyong Classic, after recovering from a wrist injury. After two wins and a walkover, he lost to
Fernando Verdasco in the final. At the
2010 Australian Open, Tsonga beat
Sergiy Stakhovsky,
Taylor Dent,
Tommy Haas, and
Nicolás Almagro. In the quarterfinals, he beat No. 3
Novak Djokovic, in his second five-set match. Tsonga's fatigue soon took a toll on him, however, as he was badly beaten in the semifinals by No. 1
Roger Federer. Tsonga then entered
Open 13 in Marseille, France. He had two wins, but lost against
Julien Benneteau in the semifinal. At
2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, he won against
Michaël Llodra, who retired due to injury, but then struggled with form and lost to
Ivan Ljubičić in the second round. The
Davis Cup was next against Germany. In the singles, Tsonga helped France take an unassailable 3–0 lead, by winning the second-rubber match against
Benjamin Becker, but was forced to retire against
Simon Greul due to a recurring injury. At the
2010 BNP Paribas Open, Tsonga lost to
Robin Söderling in the fourth round. He was seeded eighth at the
2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He beat
Guillermo García López,
Philipp Kohlschreiber, and
Juan Carlos Ferrero, before losing to
Rafael Nadal, after blowing eight break-point opportunities. Tsonga then made his debut at the
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He had a win over
Nicolás Almagro, but was edged out in a match against
Juan Carlos Ferrero. exhibition tournament|alt=Tsonga practicing his forehand. After nursing an injury, Tsonga entered the
2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. After wins over
Jan Hájek and
Nicolás Almagro, he was stunned by Dutch youngster
Thiemo de Bakker in the quarterfinals. At the
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but was beaten by
David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. At the
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, he was forced to retire in the opening round against Guillermo García López. Seeded eighth at the
2010 French Open, Tsonga defeated
Daniel Brands, in five sets,
Josselin Ouanna, and
Thiemo de Bakker. Unfortunately, in the fourth round, Tsonga had to withdraw after losing the first set against
Mikhail Youzhny, due to the progressive regional back pain from the previous round. Scans showed that Tsonga had sustained a right hip injury. At Wimbledon he was seeded tenth. He had tough wins over
Robert Kendrick and
Alexandr Dolgopolov, before easier victories over
Tobias Kamke and
Julien Benneteau. However, in the quarterfinals, he eventually fell to home favorite
Andy Murray in four sets. Not long after his Wimbledon campaign, Jo suffered a heavy knee injury. It caused him to withdraw from all the US Open Series events, including the
US Open. Tsonga made his return in October for his title defense at the
2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships as the third seed, but rustiness was apparent, and he lost early to
Jarkko Nieminen. Entering the
2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000 as the 12th seed, Tsonga had wins over
Feliciano López,
Sam Querrey, and
Florian Mayer, before losing in the quarterfinals in straight sets to eventual champion
Andy Murray. He then entered the
Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but lost against
Viktor Troicki in the second round. A week later, Tsonga made a semifinal appearance at the
Open Sud de France in Montpellier, but was beaten by
Gaël Monfils for the first time. During the week in Montpellier, Tsonga re-aggravated his knee problem. He missed the
Paris Masters, as well as the French
Davis Cup final against
Serbia. It was a tough end to the season for Tsonga, as he finished the season outside the top 10 for the first time in three years, compiled a 31–16 win–loss record (his worst tally since 2007), and failed to reach a single final during the season.
2011: Tour Finals and Paris Masters finals Tsonga started his ATP season with an exhibition tournament at
Abu Dhabi. However, Tsonga suffered a loss to
Robin Söderling, but later told the press that being out of tennis for several months last season has made him hungry and determined. At the
Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Tsonga defeated
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo,
Sergey Bubka, and
Guillermo García López, before losing to
Roger Federer in the semifinal. The
AAMI Kooyong Classic had Tsonga losing early to
Jürgen Melzer. Tsonga then entered the
2011 Australian Open. After a thrilling win over
Philipp Petzschner and breezing past
Andreas Seppi, Tsonga lost to
Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets. Tsonga then participated in the
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in
Rotterdam, Netherlands. He defeated Bulgarian
Grigor Dimitrov,
Michaël Llodra, and
Ivan Ljubičić to reach his first final since winning the Japan Open in 2009, but lost there to
Robin Söderling. At the
Open 13 tennis tournament, Tsonga lost to Russian
Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. A day later, he declared that he had sustained another ankle injury, which again put him out of Davis Cup action against Austria. Tsonga fell in the opening round at the
2011 BNP Paribas Open. At the
2011 Sony Ericsson Open, as the 15th seed, Tsonga's poor form continued. He managed to get a win over
Teymuraz Gabashvili, but fell to
Alexandr Dolgopolov in a match that lasted two days. Afterwards, he announced that he and his longtime coach
Éric Winogradsky had decided to part ways after working together for seven years. At the
2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, he had a win over
Juan Mónaco, but was beaten by
Ivan Ljubičić in round two. Then came a first-round loss at the
2011 Estoril Open. Tsonga then found some form at the
2011 Mutua Madrid Open, beating first-time top-10 debutant
Nicolás Almagro, before losing to
Robin Söderling in the third round. At the
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he beat juniors rival
Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to
Roger Federer in the second round. Tsonga was 19th seed heading into the
French Open. He beat both
Jan Hájek and
Igor Andreev in straight sets and made it to the third round, where he was defeated by 14th seed
Stanislas Wawrinka. At the 2011 Aegon Championships in London, Tsonga beat
Michael Berrer and
Rafael Nadal, while moving through to the semifinals for the first time in a grass tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated British wildcard
James Ward, but he let slip a healthy lead in a loss against
Andy Murray in the final. Just 24 hours later, he arrived at the
2011 Aegon International in Eastbourne. In his opening round, he defeated
Denis Istomin, but he lost to
Radek Štěpánek in round two. , where he reached the semifinals for the first time|alt=Tsonga running backwards looking to hit an overhead. At the
2011 Wimbledon Championships, Tsonga defeated
Go Soeda,
Grigor Dimitrov,
Fernando González, and
David Ferrer. In the quarterfinals, he stunned the Centre Court crowd by coming from two sets down to defeat
Roger Federer. This handed Federer his first loss in a Grand Slam after leading two sets to love, while handing Tsonga only his second win in coming back from two sets down. In the semifinals, however, despite serving for the first set and saving three match points in the third-set tiebreak, he eventually lost to second seed and eventual champion
Novak Djokovic in four sets. At the
Rogers Cup in Montreal, Tsonga defeated
Fabio Fognini,
Bernard Tomic,
Roger Federer, and
Nicolás Almagro, to set up a Wimbledon semifinal rematch against
Novak Djokovic. After trailing 4–6, 0–3, Tsonga retired due to an arm problem. At the
2011 Western & Southern Open, Tsonga defeated
Marin Čilić, but lost to qualifier
Alex Bogomolov Jr. At the
US Open, he defeated
Lu Yen-hsun,
Sergey Bubka,
Fernando Verdasco, and
Mardy Fish. He again met
Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, but this time Federer swept him aside in three sets. Tsonga teamed up with
Michaël Llodra to notch an impressive victory over
Fernando Verdasco and
Feliciano López in Davis Cup play against Spain, but then was crushed by
Rafael Nadal in his fourth singles rubber, as France lost the tie against Spain 1–4. Tsonga played at the
2011 Open de Moselle, where he was the top-seeded player. He defeated
Mathieu Rodrigues and
Nicolas Mahut, and in the semifinals he ended a two-match losing streak against
Alexandr Dolgopolov. In the final, Tsonga fought past
Ivan Ljubičić in three sets to win the tournament; his first title in almost two years since his triumph in Tokyo. At
2011 China Open, he opened with wins over
Grigor Dimitrov,
Zhang Ze, and
Juan Carlos Ferrero. In Tsonga's semifinal match against
Tomáš Berdych Tsonga could not withstand Berdych's growing confidence in a three-set loss. Tsonga was fourth seed for the 2011
Shanghai Rolex Masters. Tsonga lost his first match to
Kei Nishikori. Vienna was the next destination for Tsonga in the
2011 Erste Bank Open. Victories over
Jarkko Nieminen,
Xavier Malisse, and
Daniel Brands set up a final against
Juan Martín del Potro. The first set was tight with del Potro taking it in a tie-break, but Tsonga prevailed in sets two and three for his second title of the season. Just two days after Tsonga's victory in Vienna, Tsonga played his first-round match at the
2011 Valencia Open 500. He lost in round two to
Sam Querrey. As expected, the home crowd warmed to Jo from the start of the
2011 BNP Paribas Masters. Tsonga had wins over
Guillermo García López,
Andreas Seppi, and
John Isner, which set up a final against
Roger Federer. Federer stormed through the first set and then won a tiebreak in the second to take the title. As a result of Tsonga's exploits in the Paris Masters, he qualified for the
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Tsonga fell to Federer, beat
Mardy Fish, and defeated
Rafael Nadal to make it to the semifinals. A win over
Tomáš Berdych sent Tsonga to the finals of the year-end championships for the first time in his career. In the final, Tsonga fought bravely, but came up short once again against
Roger Federer. Tsonga finished the year matching his 2008 career-high ranking of No. 6.
2012: World No. 5, Olympic silver Just before 2012 began, Tsonga participated in the
Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament in late December 2011, where he lost a match against
David Ferrer. Tsonga then began his 2012 season at the
2012 Qatar Open. Three wins set up a meeting against
Roger Federer in the semifinals. However, Federer announced an unexpected withdrawal from the tournament due to a back problem, which gave Tsonga a walkover into the final. In the final, he won against
Gaël Monfils. Tsonga then played in the
2012 AAMI Classic exhibition tournament and lost the two matches he played. A week later, Tsonga had wins over
Denis Istomin,
Ricardo Mello, and
Frederico Gil to make the round of 16 at the
2012 Australian Open. However, against
Kei Nishikori, Tsonga lost a close five set match. He took some time off before entering the
2012 Open 13. Two routine wins placed him in the semifinals against
Juan Martín del Potro, where he lost in three sets. Next on the calendar was the
2012 Dubai Tennis Championships. Tsonga defeated
Marcos Baghdatis and
Lukáš Rosol, but lost once again to del Potro. The first Masters Series of the season, the
2012 BNP Paribas Open saw struggles. A retirement by
Michaël Llodra and a win over
Radek Štěpánek preceded a loss to
David Nalbandian, after holding a match point. At the
2012 Sony Ericsson Open, three easy wins paved the way to a quarterfinal encounter with
Rafael Nadal. Tsonga fought hard, but Nadal battled to a three-set win. In
Davis Cup play, Tsonga beat
Ryan Harrison and lost to
John Isner. France was eliminated from the event. The start of the clay-court run was next at the
2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The results were wins against
Philipp Kohlschreiber and
Fernando Verdasco and a loss against
Gilles Simon. The
2012 BMW Open yielded a first-round loss to
Tommy Haas. The
2012 Mutua Madrid Open was similar, with a second-round loss to
Alexandr Dolgopolov. The
2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia followed. Two victories against
Viktor Troicki and
Juan Martín del Potro set up a loss to top seed
Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Tsonga's
French Open 2012 started off in shaky fashion after dropping the first set to Russian qualifier
Andrey Kuznetsov. However, he closed out the match and then had wins over
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe,
Fabio Fognini, and
Stanislas Wawrinka. In the quarterfinals against
Novak Djokovic, he lost in five sets. The grass-court season began with the
Aegon Championships. He defeated Britain's
Jamie Baker, but was ousted by
Ivan Dodig in three extremely tight sets. He also suffered a finger injury during the match after diving in an attempt to retrieve a ball. In the days leading up to
Wimbledon, it was announced that Tsonga had a severely sprained finger, but would still compete. This proved to be a good tournament for Tsonga, with wins over
Lleyton Hewitt,
Guillermo García López,
Lukáš Lacko,
Mardy Fish, and
Philipp Kohlschreiber. He then faced
Andy Murray for a place in the final, but despite managing to fight back to take the third set, Tsonga was ousted by the No. 4-ranked Murray. .|alt=Tsonga hitting a running forehand return The
2012 London Summer Olympics was next up for Tsonga. His victory over
Milos Raonic in the second round became the longest ever (in number of games played) at the Olympics. Fatigue, surprisingly, did not appear to affect Tsonga in the third round. He eased into the quarterfinals over
Feliciano López, but lost to No. 2
Novak Djokovic. In the men's doubles event, Tsonga represented France alongside
Michaël Llodra. The pair won their opening match against Argentinians
David Nalbandian and
Eduardo Schwank, and followed it with a win over India's
Leander Paes and
Vishnu Vardhan. They faced the Brazilian duo of
Marcelo Melo and
Bruno Soares in the quarterfinals, and earned a two set victory for a semifinal berth. In a marathon encounter, they won their next match against the Spaniards López and
David Ferrer, 18–16 in the third set. In the finals, they faced the top seeded Americans
Mike and Bob Bryan, but lost in straight sets, thus winning the Olympic silver medal. At
Rogers Cup he suffered a second-round loss to
Jérémy Chardy. He also crashed out in the second round of the
2012 US Open, after a defeat by No. 52
Martin Kližan. After a short break for recovery, Jo was back in France for the
2012 Moselle Open. Tsonga rolled to a semifinal berth with Russian
Nikolay Davydenko. Tsonga had never beaten Davydenko in two previous attempts, but had a tight three-set win. The final was an easy two-set win over
Andreas Seppi, Tsonga's ninth ATP career title. At the
2012 China Open, Tsonga had a win and a walkover before beating
Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. An easy win over
Feliciano López advanced Tsonga to his third final of the year. No. 2
Novak Djokovic was his opponent. Djokovic won the match in two sets. Tsonga continued his year with the
2012 Shanghai Masters. He had wins over
Benoît Paire and
Marcos Baghdatis, but he lost in the quarterfinals to
Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. The busy schedule continued in
Stockholm. Tsonga cruised past
Go Soeda and
Sergiy Stakhovsky in the opening rounds, and had Baghdatis retire against him after a close semifinal match. This set up a final against Tomáš Berdych – the second time in two weeks. Despite being a set and a break up, Tsonga lost in three sets. At the
Valencia Open, Tsonga retired against
Xavier Malisse. The Race To London was almost decided. Tsonga needed a quarterfinal appearance in
Paris to secure it for certain. Tsonga came through an extremely tight encounter with
Julien Benneteau and then beat
Nicolás Almagro; though Tsonga fell to
David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, his win over Almagro secured his place in the
ATP World Tour Finals. The Tour Finals found Tsonga with a new coach,
Roger Rasheed.
Novak Djokovic was his first round-robin opponent and Tsonga lost in two sets. Two more losses to
Tomáš Berdych and
Andy Murray ended his season.
2013: French Open semifinal, 10th title At
2013 Hopman Cup he was paired with
Mathilde Johansson. Tsonga defeated
Fernando Verdasco,
John Isner and
Kevin Anderson. France finished bottom of their group, but despite injuring himself at Hopman Cup, Jo was declared fit for the
2013 Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals but lost a thrilling five setter against
Roger Federer. In Rotterdam, Tsonga made a surprising first-round exit against
Igor Sijsling. Tsonga then played in the Open 13 in Marseille. In the quarterfinals, he saved five match points to edge
Bernard Tomic, and then rolled over his countryman
Gilles Simon in the semifinals. In the final, Tsonga saved a match point and overcame top seed
Tomáš Berdych in three sets for his 10th ATP World Tour title. at the
2013 French Open|alt=Tsonga wiping his face with his wristband. At the
French Open, Tsonga gained a decisive straight-set quarterfinal victory against
Roger Federer, making Tsonga the first French player to reach the semifinals since
Gaël Monfils in 2008, as well as only the second player after
Rafael Nadal to have beaten Federer at both Wimbledon and the French Open. Tsonga was then defeated in straight sets by
David Ferrer. Following a run to the semifinals at Queen's, where Tsonga lost to the eventual champion,
Andy Murray, Tsonga then competed at Wimbledon, where he was a two-time semifinalist. He retired in the second round against
Ernests Gulbis. He missed the entire North American swing, including the
US Open for the second time in four years, due to the injury. Tsonga then made a comeback at
Metz, reaching the final but losing to compatriot
Gilles Simon. At the
2013 BNP Paribas Masters, Tsonga lost his first match to
Kei Nishikori, thus ruling him out of contention for the
ATP World Tour Finals and capping off a disappointing season for Tsonga.
2014: Hopman Cup champion, 2nd Masters title Tsonga started his season winning the
Hopman Cup with compatriot
Alizé Cornet. In the fourth round of the
2014 Australian Open, he lost to longtime friend and rival
Roger Federer in straight sets, despite not dropping a set in the first three rounds. Tsonga's next tournament was the Rotterdam Open. He reached the second round before falling to
Marin Čilić in two tight sets. Tsonga reached the final of
2014 Open 13 losing to
Ernest Gulbis. At the
2014 Dubai Tennis Championships, he was defeated by
Tomáš Berdych. At the
2014 Indian Wells Masters, he suffered a first round exit against
Julien Benneteau. He was defeated by
Andy Murray in the fourth round of the
2014 Sony Open Tennis. Tsonga reach in the quarterfinals of the
2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but was defeated by
Roger Federer. He was defeated by
Santiago Giraldo in the second round of the
2014 Mutua Madrid Open in straight sets. He was defeated by
Milos Raonic for the first time in three meetings at the Rome Masters third round. In French Open, he made to the fourth round, losing to
Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Tsonga began his grass court season by reaching the 3rd round of the
2014 Aegon Championships. He was stunned by
Marinko Matosevic in straight sets. He then advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon after a tricky first and second round against
Jürgen Melzer and
Sam Querrey, both taking him to 5 sets. He fell to two-time champion and longstanding rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Tsonga showed excellent form in
Toronto, winning his second Masters title by defeating
Roger Federer in straight sets. Tsonga won the crown capturing four wins over top-10 players, a first at a Masters-1000 event in twelve years. Impressively, Tsonga defeated three of the
Big Four in a single tournament, capturing victories over
Novak Djokovic in the third round,
Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, and Federer in the final. His semi-final win was against Wimbledon semi-finalist
Grigor Dimitrov. He was beaten by
Andy Murray in the fourth round of
2014 US Open in straight sets. After that, Tsonga was instrumental in driving the French Davis Cup team into the finals of the
2014 Davis Cup by winning both his singles and doubles matches. At the
Moselle Open at Metz, he won in straight sets against
Gilles Müller but was defeated by
David Goffin in the quarterfinals.
2015: Fourth Masters final After a quiet, injury-hit start to the season in which Tsonga did not play at the Australian Open, he began his 2015 campaign at
Miami, where he beat
Tim Smyczek but lost to Gaël Monfils in the second round. He reached the third round at the next two Masters 1000 events, the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the
Mutua Madrid Open, losing out to Marin Čilić and Tomáš Berdych respectively. |alt=Tsonga in a blue shirt looking away from the camera. Tsonga reached his second French Open semifinal and sixth overall at Grand Slam tournaments, with wins over fourth seed
Tomáš Berdych and fifth seed
Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively. In the semifinals, he was defeated by eighth seed and eventual champion
Stan Wawrinka, in four close sets. Tsonga played at the
2015 Wimbledon Championships and won the first two rounds before losing out to Ivo Karlović in the round of 32 in four sets. He then played for France at the Davis Cup tie against Great Britain; he lost his match against Andy Murray and France went on to lose the rubber 3–1. Tsonga lost to Murray again in the quarterfinals of the
2015 Rogers Cup, having previously beaten
Bernard Tomic,
Roberto Bautista Agut, and
Borna Ćorić. Seeded 19th at the
2015 US Open, Tsonga beat
Jarkko Nieminen,
Marcel Granollers,
Sergiy Stakhovsky, and
Benoît Paire to reach his second US Open quarterfinal without dropping a single service game. He then lost to the defending champion
Marin Čilić in a tightly contested five-set match. Tsonga came back after losing the first two sets and saved three match points in the fourth to force a decider. Tsonga won his twelfth singles title and third at the
Moselle Open in Metz, France with a victory over compatriot
Gilles Simon in a hard-fought three-set final match. Tsonga entered the
2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters ranked No. 15, and reached the final beating
Kevin Anderson and
Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. He lost the final to
Novak Djokovic, but despite the loss, re-entered the world's top 10.
2016: Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinals Tsonga began the 2016 season at the
Auckland tournament. He beat
Philipp Kohlschreiber in two sets, followed by a tight two-set victory against
Fabio Fognini. In the semifinals, he lost in three sets against
Roberto Bautista Agut after leading much of the match and missing a match point. He began the
Australian Open by winning in four sets against
Marcos Baghdatis, then beat the young Australian
Omar Jasika in three sets before overcoming compatriot
Pierre-Hugues Herbert, also in three sets. In the fourth round, he was defeated in three sets by seventh seed,
Kei Nishikori. Tsonga then played in the
2016 Argentina Open. Tsonga was beaten in the quarterfinals in straight sets by
Nicolás Almagro. Following the Argentina Open, he played in the
Rio Open, where he was beaten in the first round by No. 338
Thiago Monteiro. Tsonga represented France in the
2016 Davis Cup World Group First round where France beat Canada 5–0 and Tsonga beat
Frank Dancevic (who retired during the match), and won the doubles alongside
Richard Gasquet in straight sets. At the
Indian Wells Masters he beat
Vincent Millot,
Sam Querrey and
Dominic Thiem to reach the quarters, where he was beaten by No. 1
Novak Djokovic. In the
Miami Masters, Tsonga was beaten in the third round by
Roberto Bautista Agut. At the
Monte Carlo Masters, Tsonga made it to the semifinals stage, where he was beaten in straight sets by
Gaël Monfils. In that quarterfinals, he beat third seed
Roger Federer. This was his first top-10 win of the season. It was also the sixth time that he has beaten Federer in 17 matches. Tsonga was scheduled to play in the
Estoril Open, but he withdrew with a knee injury. He played in the
2016 Madrid Open, where he was beaten in straight sets by Canadian
Milos Raonic. He withdrew from the
Italian Open with a muscle strain. Tsonga, the sixth seed, retired with an
adductor muscle injury from his
French Open third-round match against Latvia's
Ernests Gulbis when he was leading 5–2 in the first set. This injury also forced Tsonga to pull out of the
2016 Aegon Championships. Tsonga took part in
Wimbledon, where he lost in the quarterfinals to the second seed
Andy Murray in five sets, after holding three set points in the first set and having a break point at the start of the final set. After helping France to a Davis Cup win against the Czech Republic, Tsonga crashed out in the second round of the
Rio Olympics. This was followed by a surprise round of 16 loss to
Steve Johnson in
Cincinnati. The
US Open saw a turn in form for Tsonga, reaching the quarterfinals, following wins against
Guido Andreozzi,
James Duckworth,
Kevin Anderson and
Jack Sock. Tsonga eventually succumbed to injury and fatigue against
Djokovic, having lost the first two sets comfortably. At
Shanghai, he lost in two tight sets in the quarterfinals to
Bautista Agut, then he reached the final in
Vienna, falling short against No. 2
Andy Murray, and finally had a quarterfinal loss to
Milos Raonic at the
Paris Masters. Tsonga ended the season ranked No. 12.
2017: Four titles and Davis Cup win At the
Australian Open, Tsonga defeated No. 23 seed
Jack Sock and unseeded
Dan Evans in the third and fourth rounds respectively, both in four sets. He then fell to No. 4-seeded
Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in straight sets, marking Tsonga's best result at the tournament since his 2013 quarterfinal run. In February, Tsonga won the
Rotterdam singles title, beating
David Goffin in the final in three sets to earn his first ATP World Tour singles title since the
2015 Moselle Open in
Metz in September 2015. Seven days later, Tsonga won his 14th career (and his second of the year) ATP World Tour singles title by defeating
Lucas Pouille in the singles final of the
Open 13 to become the
Open 13 singles champion for a record third time. Struggles with injury and the birth of Tsonga's first child had a significant impact on Tsonga's activity in the ensuing months. A first round loss to
Fabio Fognini in
Indian Wells, withdrawal from the
Miami Masters, a second round loss in
Monte Carlo to compatriot
Adrian Mannarino, a second round withdrawal in
Madrid and withdrawal from the
Rome Masters were huge setbacks after an exciting start to the year. However, the end of May saw a return to winning ways for Tsonga as he cruised to a third ATP World Tour singles title of the season in
Lyon. Wins over
Carlos Berlocq,
Karen Khachanov and
Nikoloz Basilashvili set up a final against perennial foe
Tomáš Berdych. A straight sets win saw Tsonga lift his first career ATP World Tour singles title on clay, as he improved to a 15–11 record in ATP World Tour finals. After struggling to string wins over the summer and the early autumn, Tsonga returned to the winner's circle in October, defeating
Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to capture his fourth ATP World Tour singles title of the year at the
European Open in
Antwerp. In November, Tsonga along with
Lucas Pouille,
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and
Richard Gasquet helped France to capture their 10th
Davis Cup and first in 16 years. Tsonga won his first singles match against
Steve Darcis but lost his second singles match against
David Goffin in the
Davis Cup final against
Belgium; France won the tie with a score of 3–2.
2018: Surgery, out of top 200, Davis Cup final Tsonga played his first tournament of the year at the
Australian Open, where he defeated
Kevin King in straight sets and
Denis Shapovalov (after being down 2–5 in the fifth set). In the third round, he faced
Nick Kyrgios, who before the match referred to Tsonga as his 'idol'; Tsonga lost the match in four sets. Tsonga was called up to play for France in the
2018 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie against
the Netherlands, but he withdrew one day before the start of the first singles match because of a knee injury. At the
Open Sud de France, Tsonga held two match points when he was leading 6–1, 5–3 against
Lucas Pouille in the semifinals before Tsonga was forced to retire from the match because of a left hamstring injury with the score at 6–1, 5–5. The Open Sud de France was Tsonga's second and last ATP World Tour tournament of the first four months of 2018. On 19 March, his
ATP singles rankings fell to world no. 38, his lowest since he was ranked world no. 38 on 14 January 2008. Tsonga pulled out of five ATP World Tour tournaments that were to be held in February, March and April (Rotterdam, Marseille, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo) due to injuries. He underwent left knee surgery on 3 April. Tsonga withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournaments in
Madrid and
Rome, the
Lyon Open and the
French Open because he had not recovered from his left knee surgery. On 28 May Tsonga was ranked outside the top 50 of the ATP singles rankings for the first time since 22 October 2007 when he was 22 years old. This was still due to his undergoing surgery earlier in the year on 3 April to repair a torn
meniscus in his left knee that resulted in his not playing any tournaments for the next eight weeks. After missing three consecutive grand slam tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) for the first time in his career, Tsonga finally made his return to competitive tennis at the
ATP Tour 250 tournament in
Metz held in September, where he lost his main draw first round match to
Peter Gojowczyk. Tsonga won one and lost three singles matches in his next three events in
Antwerp,
Vienna and
Paris. After the Paris Masters, he played just one more match, in the
2018 Davis Cup World Group final against Croatia; he lost the second singles rubber against
Marin Čilić.
2019: Two titles, Paris quarterfinal Tsonga began the season with a semifinal appearance at the
Brisbane Open where he lost to
Daniil Medvedev. At the
Australian Open, he lost to world number 1
Novak Djokovic in the second round in straight sets. At the
Open Sud de France, Tsonga won his first title since 2017 when he entered the tournament as a wildcard and defeated
Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final. He followed this up the next week with a quarterfinal appearance at the
Rotterdam Open losing to
Daniil Medvedev. The following week, he received a wildcard for the
Open 13, where he fell again against a Russian youngster. This time it was against 21-year-old
Andrey Rublev. A month later, having skipped Indian Wells, Tsonga entered the qualifying round of the
Miami Open, where he beat
Lukas Rosol before losing in straight sets to
Pablo Cuevas. Tsonga started his clay season in
Marrakech, playing the
Grand Prix Hassan II. He beat
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe,
Kyle Edmund and
Lorenzo Sonego without dropping a set before losing to
Benoit Paire in 3 sets in the semifinals. He was then awarded a wildcard entry to the
Monte-Carlo Masters where he lost the 1st set and retired in the 2nd of his 1st round match against
Taylor Fritz. Tsonga then returned to the
ATP Challenger Tour for the first time since winning the
Surbiton Trophy in June 2007. He entered the 48-player draw of the
Bordeaux Open and defeated
Viktor Troicki and
Hugo Nys before losing in the quarterfinals against Filip Horansky. After this performance, he returned to the top 100 for the 1st time since the previous October. Next, Tsonga entered the
ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome losing in the 1st round to Fabio Fognini in straight sets. In the following week, he entered the
ATP 250 Lyon Open where he reached the quarterfinals by beating
Dušan Lajović and
Steven Diez in a match which took just short of 3 hours. He ultimately lost to
Nikoloz Basilashvili in a double 6–4 match. He returned to the
French Open with a 1st round win in 4 sets against
Peter Gojowczyk. Since Tsonga wasn't seeded due to his ranking of 82nd in the world, he drew 7th seed Japanese
Kei Nishikori in the 2nd round and, although the Frenchman won the 1st set, he fell short in the following 3 and exited the tournament. Tsonga began his grass-court season the week following the French Open in
Stuttgart, where he comfortably beat
Mischa Zverev in the first round before losing to
Milos Raonic in the 2nd round in a tightly contested 3-setter with two tiebreaks. He then played the
ATP 500 Halle Open, where he beat
Benoît Paire in two tight sets, before facing his rival and at that time 9-time champion of the tournament
Roger Federer in the 2nd round. Despite the heavy favoritism of the Swiss, Tsonga had a great performance, forcing a tiebreak, in the 1st set, that he lost by 7–5, winning the 2nd set 6–4 and only succumbing by 7–5 in the 3rd. Federer went on to win his record 10th title in Halle. Tsonga made the third round of
Wimbledon, after straight-set wins over
Bernard Tomic and
Ričardas Berankis, and lost in straight sets to world number 2
Rafael Nadal. Tsonga defeated world number 8
Karen Khachanov in the second round of the
Washington Open to register his first win over a top-10 player in almost two years. He lost in the next round to
Kyle Edmund in straight sets. In September, Tsonga won his second title of the year at the
Moselle Open defeating
Aljaž Bedene in the final. Tsonga's last individual event of the year was the
Paris Masters in October. As a wildcard, he made it to the quarterfinals defeating world number 9
Matteo Berrettini along the way. He played
Rafael Nadal and lost in straight sets. At the end of 2019, Tsonga's ranking had jumped from 239 at the beginning of the year to 29 at the end.
2020: Inactivity due to COVID-19 Tsonga played only two matches in 2020. The first one came at the
Qatar Open where he went in as the 3rd seed and lost to
Miomir Kecmanović in the first round. The second one came at the
Australian Open where he went in as the 28th seed and lost to
Alexei Popyrin in the first round. After the
COVID-19 pandemic had shut down tennis in March, Tsonga decided to remain inactive for the rest of 2020, even when tennis came back in August.
2021: More struggles with injuries Tsonga returned to the tour at the
Open Sud de France where he lost in the first round to
Sebastian Korda in straight sets. He recorded his first win of the year at the
Open 13 where he defeated
Feliciano López in straight sets but lost in the next round to 4th seed
Ugo Humbert in straight sets. At the
Dubai Open, Tsonga sustained an arm injury in his first round match against
Malek Jaziri and retired after just six games. The injury would affect his results for the rest of the year. Tsonga played his last match of the year at
Wimbledon where he lost in the first round in five sets against
Mikael Ymer. He was unable to return to action during the season due to injury. Throughout 2021, Tsonga compiled a win–loss record of 1–8.
2022: Brief return, retirement , his last professional tournament Tsonga returned to the tour in February at the
Open Sud de France using his protected ranking and won in the first round against
Kacper Żuk in straight sets before losing to
Filip Krajinović in the next round. He also advanced to the second round in the
doubles tournament with partner
Fabrice Martin by defeating
Lucas Pouille and
Albano Olivetti in the first round before succumbing in the following round to
Jonathan Erlich and
Édouard Roger-Vasselin. On 6 April 2022, Tsonga announced that he would retire at the
2022 French Open. He played his last match on 24 May against
Casper Ruud in the first round, in which he lost in four sets. ==Rivalries==